Its starting to look like a trend. Not only has McCain taken the lead in National polls since his pick of Palin, but he is gaining the edge in the ever so important battleground states too, according to Zogby and the St. Pete Times.

From the Times:

Florida may be falling from Obama’s grasp

Barack Obama could be on the verge of falling out of contention in Florida.

Despite spending an estimated $8-million on campaign ads in America’s biggest battleground state and putting in place the largest Democratic campaign organization ever in Florida, Obama has lost ground over the summer. Florida has moved from a toss-up state to one that clearly leans toward John McCain, fueling speculation about how much longer the Democratic nominee will continue investing so heavily in the state….

He is farther behind in the state than John Kerry was at this point in 2004, even though McCain began buying Florida TV ads only last week. By this time in 2004, the Bush-Cheney campaign had spent $13-million on Florida TV. In the rolling average of Florida polls compiled by the Web site RealClearPolitics.com, Obama has never taken the lead over McCain in Florida, and the latest average shows him behind by 5 percentage points. They were tied in early August.

Four Florida polls came out this week, with one showing a tied race, the others showing McCain leading by 5 to 8 percentage points.

And from Zogby (click on individual states to get data):

State: Pennsylvania

Updated: 9/13/2008

Summary:
McCain – 49.1%
Obama – 44.3%
Not Sure/Other – 6.6%

“This is a classic case of polling as a snapshot in time. We’re turning Pennsylvania purple today, as McCain takes a small edge. But as in Ohio, we are watching this closely and things could change in this classically blue state.”

More commentary at Hot Air — Battlegrounds: Florida, Pennsylvania breaking for McCain?.

See also the Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Panic sets in for Obama, Democrats by Jim Wooten.

In this election, voters will decide early. Obama’s been in a yearlong campaign; McCain’s familiar. The two are sufficiently exposed and known for voters to make a decision now.

It’s not over. But it’s getting there — and Obama knows it.