Barack Obama Down To 5-Point Lead In New York!

This is literally a shocker:

BOOSTED by the selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate, Republican John McCain has experienced a surge of support among women in heavily Democratic New York state - where he has closed the gap with Barack Obama, new private polls show.

The internal Republican and Democratic polls, details of which were provided to The Post, have stunned members of both parties - and produced deep worries among Democrats.

POLL: McCain Picks Up 5 Points in NY

One great concern for Democrats is that the data show a continuous movement toward the McCain-Palin ticket by women, a majority of whom traditionally favor Democrats.

The movement by women toward McCain is being credited to Democratic attacks on Alaska Gov. Palin, last week's "lipstick on a pig" crack by Obama and to the continuing unhappiness by female Democrats over Obama's failure to pick Hillary Rodham Clinton as his running mate.

"If it winds up being tight in New York, that means McCain wins the election nationally," said a prominent Democrat familiar with some of the polling data.

I've lived in New York City all my entire life so I'm well aware of the direction the political wind has long blown here, so much so when I knew that I couldn't vote for an Al Gore or a John Kerry I was tempted not to vote knowing full well that my vote wouldn't mean anything. I still don't think that there's any chance McCain or any member of the GOP can ever win New York, but the idea of John McCain making it close is just beyond belief.