From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

With national polls showing a virtual tie in the presidential race, what is the route to victory in the electoral college?

I'm Lawrence O'Donnell, sitting in for Warren Alley, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International, a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

The Obama-Biden ticket got a bounce in the polls after the Democratic convention, and the McCain-Palin ticket got a bigger bounce after the Republican convention.

What are the polls telling us?

Are voters really changing their minds

from week to week or even speech to speech? With the candidates running a virtual tie in the

national polls, what are the state polls telling them about the route to victory in the

electoral college? On reporter's notebook later on, the sideline of New England's Superman, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund,

whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

I'm Lawrence O'Donnell, sitting in for Warren Allney, back with To the Point from PRI.

What do national polls commissioned by major newspapers really tell us about the presidential race?

Why do all the polls come up with different results? Why do the campaigns tell us they ignore those polls?

And how do the poll results influence voters? And what polls do the candidates use in deciding

how to deploy their resources and chart the course to victory in the electoral college?

On reporter's notebook, the leader of New England's Super Bowl dream team is sidelined for the season.

First, this news update. President Bush announced today that about 8,000 U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by February,

but that thousands of additional troops will be sent to Afghanistan before he leaves office

because of worsening violence in Afghanistan. Here is what the president had to say.

While the progress in Iraq is still fragile and reversible, General Petraeus and

...