WASHINGTON, Sept 7 - Republican candidate John McCain goes into the final stretch of the U.S. presidential campaign 4 percentage points ahead of Democrat Barack Obama, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll released on Sunday.

McCain's 4-point lead was his biggest since January and a turnaround from a USA Today poll taken just before last week's Republican Party convention opened, when he trailed Obama by 7 percentage points.

The new poll, taken Friday through Sunday, showed McCain leading Obama by 50 percent to 46 percent among registered voters with less than two months before the November 4 election.

USA Today said McCain, a veteran Arizona senator, got a significant boost from the Republican convention and the selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate.

McCain also narrowed Obama's wide advantage on handling the economy, the top issue in the campaign, USA Today said.

On the question of managing the economy, Obama, a first-term Illinois senator, was favored by 19 points before the Republican convention but now was favored by 3 points, USA Today said.

The poll of 1,022 adults, including 959 registered voters, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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