But then again, we've all been waiting for the moment when the American people recognize that the choice is between experience and image. And as that has happened, Barack Obama's lead has diminished, disappeared, and perhaps become a deficit.

John McCain leads Obama 46 percent to 41 percent among likely voters.

John McCain has overtaken Barack Obama in the presidential race, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released Wednesday morning.

McCain leads Obama 46 percent to 41 percent among likely voters, which is outside the poll's margin of error. Reuters/Zogby had Obama ahead by 7 points as recently as mid-July.

McCain's resurgence comes at the doorstep of the Democratic Convention, and follows other polling that collectively indicates the presidential race has become a dead heat.

* * *

Today's Reuters/Zogby poll, conducted Aug. 14-16, by contrast, seems to follow a recent trend.

Frankly, I think this development was inevitable given Obama's naked resume and John McCain's long record of service to his country and significant accomplishments in the course of that service. While there may be many of us who disagree with some positions taken by McCain over the years, we still recognize quality and substance when we see it.

Simply put, Obama peaked too soon (not by a matter of weeks, but by about a decade) and is likely to continue to slip in the polls -- until America dismisses him back to the obscurity from which he emerged in a burst of media-driven celebrity four years ago.