With the US Presidential election getting close and closer, Republican Senator John McCain has cut Democrat Senator Barack Obama's national lead in half, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

The survey also shows that Obama now receives the support of just one in two voters who backed Hillary Clinton in the primaries, and he trails McCain on issues of handling terrorism, the war in Iraq and international crises like the recent conflict between Russia and Georgia.

As for McCain's challenges, nearly eight in 10 voters believe that the Republican senator would follow Bush's policies. The poll's participants also consider McCain less strong than Obama regarding the issues of the economy and health care, which are top public concerns, according to the poll.

Overall, Obama holds a three-point lead over McCain, down from his six-point advantage last month.

Experts lists several reasons for this trend:

The conflict in Georgia and the Olympics shifting the news focus from the economy to foreign affairs, McCain's strongest terrain; McCain's barrage of negative TV ads against Obama and doubts about Obama's ability to be commander-in-chief.

Yet perhaps the most important factor has been Obama's inability to attract some of Hillary Clinton's supporters.

For these reason, Clinton's speech on the Tuesday night of the Democratic convention (August 25-28) is anticipated as a very a significant event.

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