McCain up by 5

Latest Zogby/Reuters poll.

A week is forever in politics, and Obama was vacationing in Hawai'i, but with an unpopular president and war, a sluggish economy, and dissatisfaction with the status quo and with Obama hailed as the new messiah and given rock-star coverage, it's amazing Obama's not up by double digits.

Except -- that the Illinois senator hasn't completed his first term in the Senate, and has no notable achievements in his relatively young life. It will be interesting to see if Obama's charisma (style over substance) is enough to carry the day.

UPDATE: After Barack Obama Hype, a Backlash:

No human being can meet the wildly inflated expectations that accompany the rookie senator's every move. It can't help that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Obama "a leader that God has blessed us with at this time."

That's the kind of remark that can turn voters into problems. Most Americans famously resent being told an election is over months before the polls open or that God is taking sides. ...

So The One has been anointed. If I were running the Obama campaign, I'd be terrified. After all, the last person the media declared inevitable was Hillary Clinton.