As Democratic nominee Barack Obama (L) turned 47 yesterday, new poll numbers released show him losing ground to rival John McCain. The ?Gallup Poll? show Obama with 45 % support; McCain at 44 percentage points. With the margin of error on the poll +/- 2 percentage points, the two are in a statistical dead heat. Obama led McCain by nine points on July 26th, when he returned from his much-hyped overseas trip. Obama has moreover denied he accused his Republican rival John McCain of racism, saying: ?In no way do I think John McCain?s campaign was racist.? But he decried the Republican campaign as ?cynical? and ?negative?. Last Friday, McCain?s team accused Obama of playing the race card after Obama said in a speech that the Republicans would try to scare voters by pointing out he ?doesn?t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills?. Referring to TV adds by the McCain team which compare Obama to socialite and airhead Paris Hilton, Obama said: ?I think they are cynical. Their team is good at creating distractions and engaging in negative attacks.?