 After the Republican National Convention, McCain saw his poll numbers increase nationwide, traced in part to movement among previously undecided voters.In the first half of September, McCain appointed William Timmons (a former senior adviser to Vice President George H. W. Bush in 1988, an advisor to Senator Bob Dole in 1996, the founder and chairman emeritus of lobbying firm Timmons and Company, and a former lobbyist for Freddie Mac) as his transition chief.From mid-September to mid-October, however, the trend lines were all in Obama's direction.