Gore admitted in his Democratic convention speech that he's not the most popular politician, but vowed to fight to win over American voters. Early poll evidence hints he may be off to a good start.

A Voter.com-Battleground tracking poll released Friday had Gore within 5 points of Republican George W. Bush, 45 percent to 40 percent. Bush had an 18-point lead in the tracking poll after the GOP convention, and was 11 points up as recently as Thursday.

At the beginning of the week, four of 10 said they didn't like Gore personally, but that had been trimmed slightly by week's end.

"Democrats clearly had a successful convention," said Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, who conducts the bipartisan poll with Republican pollster Ed Goeas. "Everything suggests the race has tightened."

The vice president told Democrats his stance on the issues and his desire to fight for working families should win voters to his side.

It may take until midweek or later to get a realistic picture of how much bounce Gore will get from his convention. Few voters would have seen his convention speech by the time the tracking poll wrapped up Thursday night. Also some of the surge in poll numbers after a political convention can evaporate as quickly as it appears.

An NBC News overnight poll showed the race virtually even, though such polls are sometimes more a measure of emotional reaction to big events than a gauge of settled public opinion.

Gore narrowed Bush's lead among men from 18 points to 10 points in the tracking poll. The two candidates were even among women, a group Gore needs to win. Gore was 4 points behind among independents at week's end after trailing by double digits.

In the crucial state-by-state race for electoral votes, Bush has had a lead or an edge in many battleground states in the Midwest, including some that should be pro-Democratic. If Gore's national numbers rise appreciably in the coming weeks, that could indicate some of these states will be very competitive.

Gore headed to the Midwest Friday for a boat ride with running mate Joe Lieberman past Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. The candidates will be talking in more detail about Democratic priorities for health care, Social Security, education and other top issues.

"These undecided voters won't come home unless Gore gives them some specifics," said pollster Lake. "They want to know what the next president will do."

The Gore campaign must continue to solidify his base of Democratic voters, make steady progress with independents, and figure out how to win a bigger share of women voters, especially white married working mothers, who currently favor Bush by almost 40 percentage points, she said.

The Democrats "started off the convention with the wrong strategy," said Republican Goeas, referring to their emphasis on winning over their liberal base. "They ended up doing better than I expected."

The vice president addressed his mixed popularity in his nomination acceptance speech Thursday night.

"I know my own imperfections," he told the Democrats. "I know that sometimes people say I'm too serious, that I talk too much substance and policy...

"But the presidency is more than a popularity contest. It's a day-by-day fight for people."

Often criticized as too scripted, some have expressed concerns about his perceived repeated efforts at a personality makeover.

And analysts have wrestled all year with questions about President Clinton's effect on Gore. Clinton has high job approval numbers, near 60 percent, and about the same number who don't like him personally. Bush has generally been viewed more positively than either Gore or Clinton.

"George W. Bush is a newcomer who hasn't had time to make any enemies," said Tom Mann of the Brookings Institution.

The percentage of voters who don't like Gore has been "a bit higher than we've seen in past years," said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

"Whether that means something about Gore," Jamieson said, "or about how they feel about President Clinton is the important question."