According to Gallup Poll Daily tracking, conducted July 24-26, Barack Obama now leads John McCain among national registered voters by a 49% to 40% margin. The survey results represent a “continuation of Obama’s front-runner position,” Gallup pollster Frank Newport noted Sunday.

The margin, concurrent with the extensive U.S. news coverage of Obama's foreign tour, is the largest for Obama over McCain measured since Gallup began tracking the presidential race in March. Till last month, Obama and McCain were running roughly even, with each averaging 45% of the vote. Since then, Obama had gained a slight lead, averaging a 3-point national advantage.

“A week of me focusing on international issues doesn’t necessarily translate into higher poll numbers here in the United States because people are understandably concerned about the immediate effects of the economy,” Obama demurred at a journalists forum in Chicago Sunday.

“That’s what we will be talking about for the duration,” he insisted.

Monday onwards, Obama plans to refocus on the topmost issue concerning the U.S. at the moment: the nation's troubled economy.

“I expect some further fine-tuning of our short-term policies based on what's happened over the last several months, and I want to get their read as well as to where they think the economy is going in the short term and medium term,” Obama said.