Democrats offer a checklist for Obama

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In Ohio, Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern said his party has registered 900,000 new voters since March. He also said there are an additional 490,000 college students who can register and vote on the same day. "We have the best organization I've seen since 1992," he said, referring to the year Bill Clinton carried the state.

While one Democrat said he was surprised at the extent of McCain's recent gains in the polls, there was relatively little concern expressed overall.

"It would be nice if it didn't occur," said Peter Brodnitz, a Democratic pollster, but he added it is a common post-convention occurrence. "We're still going through the settling out" phase, he said.

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As did others, Brodnitz said the Obama campaign "has to show they're the agent of change," and refute McCain's claims in that area.

Casey said Democrats must make sure that McCain's previous statements favorable to the privatization of government retirement benefits are well-known, as well as his votes against expanding children's health care. "I think John McCain's record is not very well-known, frankly," he added.

Palin's presence on the ticket presents a challenge for Obama, according to Democrats. "What's happened in the last two weeks has caught a lot of Democrats by surprise," said Simon Rosenberg, the president of the NDN, a think tank. "The Obama campaign and the party are recalibrating."

Several Democrats said the Alaska governor is experiencing a political honeymoon and predicted it would not last until Election Day in November. They expressed hope that the news media would investigate her record aggressively.

They also advised Obama to hand off the task of challenging her to his own running mate, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, or to Democratic women.

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