Obama ahead in three national polls, but McCain is up a few points -- in South Carolina

Three new national polls released in the past day - all show Obama with the lead:

Three new national polls have come out -- New York Times/CBS (which has Obama leading by six, 45%-39%, among registered voters), the Washington Post/ABC (which has Obama up eight among registered voters, 50%-42%), and Reuters/Zogby (which has him up seven, 47%-40%). When adding yesterday’s Quinnipiac poll (which had Obama up nine among likely voters), it cements the CW that Obama’s lead over McCain right now is in the high single digits.

I am more interested in state polls, and this one from South Carolina, caught my eye. It's from Public Policy Polling:

John McCain 45
Barack Obama 39
Bob Barr 5

Barack Obama is keeping it closer than other Democrats have in recent years in South Carolina, but still trails John McCain by six points.

The demographics fueling Obama's ability to stay within striking range are the same ones that allowed him to win a dominant victory in the state's Democratic primary. He leads 77-10 with black voters and 54-32 with voters under 30. John McCain leads within pretty much every other subgroup.

If there is a path to victory for Obama in South Carolina it includes maximizing turnout from those two groups favorable to him, and also hoping that more conservatives unhappy with John McCain will turn toward Bob Barr.

Okay, the idea that anyone can even discuss the possibility that Obama has a "path to victory" in South Carolina is astounding. McCain's lap dog Lindsey Graham must be in a tizzy over this poll.

Nate Silver provides the smart analysis on what the latest batch of polls really mean.