Obama holds Gallup poll lead

PRINCETON, N.J., July 20 (UPI) -- Presumptive Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Barack Obama holds a slim lead over his likely Republican opponent, the latest Gallup poll indicates.

A daily tracking poll released Saturday by the Gallup Organization of Princeton, N.J., indicated U.S. Sen. Obama, D-Ill., led U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., 45 percent to 43 percent. Obama's showing was the second straight day his support level was below 46 percent after 18 consecutive days at or above that mark, the pollsters said.

Obama embarked on a major overseas trip to Afghanistan, Iraq, the Middle East and Europe Saturday, which promises to give him extensive media coverage. Gallup analysts predicted the trip could help Obama rebound to above the 46 percent mark in the coming days.

The poll results were based on interviews with 2,657 registered voters conducted July 16-18. The maximum margin of sampling error is 2 percentage points, Gallup said.