The search for a McCain surge continues to be in vain……

Scott Rasmussen’s poll, for example, has Obama up eight points over McCain for the fourth straight day:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows Barack Obama attracting 52% of the vote while John McCain earns 44%. This is the fourth straight day Obama has been at 52%, his highest level of support this season (…) McCain is now viewed favorably by just 50% of voters and unfavorably by 49%. Those are his lowest ratings since the campaign became a two-man race in early June. The figures include just 25% with a Very Favorable opinion of the Republican nominee while 28% hold a Very Unfavorable view. Obama is viewed favorably by 57%, including 42% with a Very Favorable opinion of the frontrunner

More importantly, the chances of McCain being able to change the minds of voters are slipping away:

[W]hile the overall levels of support have remained stable, voters have become more certain of their intent. Today, the percentage who say they could still change their mind is down to single digits. Forty-eight percent (48%) are now certain they will vote for Obama while 39% say the same about McCain. One month ago, while Obama enjoyed a five-point lead overall, just 41% of voters were certain they would vote for him. At that time, 39% said the same about McCain

Unless McCain somehow came up with a good reason for those people to change their minds, it’ most likely not going to happen.

Similarly, the Gallup Daily tracking poll shows a largely consistent lead for Barack Obama under all scenarios:

Both models have shown fairly stable results since Gallup began tracking likely voter preferences in early October. In the traditional model — which identifies likely voters based on current voting intentions and self-reported past voting behavior — Obama’s support has ranged narrowly between 49% and 51%, while McCain’s support remains in the 44% to 47% range. Today’s 50% to 45% Obama advantage matches the average for this model to date. The expanded model — which identifies likely voters based on current voting intentions only — has generally shown Obama doing slightly better, with his support averaging 52% and ranging from 50% to 53%. McCain has averaged 44% in this model, and his support has been between 42% and 46% since early October. Obama currently holds a 51% to 42% lead over McCain among all registered voters, which equals the average for October to date. That nine percentage point average lead is easily Obama’s best of the campaign; his average lead was two points in September, three points in August, four points in July, and three points in June.

Once again, the results are basically the same in the other tracking polls. Obama is up by five points in the Zogby poll, eight points in the Hotline poll, four points in the Investors Business Daily poll, and nine points in the ABC/Washington Post poll.

More tomorrow, I’m sure.