Are folks telling pollsters one thing and planning to secretly vote another?!

That's the secret fear of the Obama Campaign -- the so-called dreaded Bradley Effect.

The fear dates back to a California governor's election 26 years ago when black mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley led in the polls against George Deukmejian, a white man - and then lost by a narrow margin!

Obama has led in polls against John McCain in national poll surveys for the past month by an average of 7 percentage points but the Democratic campaign is terrified that a secret taint of racism persists - one that prompts potential voters to lie to pollsters they'll vote Bam but secretly plan to pull the lever for J-Mac! 

Many scientists and political pundits dismiss The Bradley Effect as an urban legend but still, if there's a problem in polling accuracy the issue may not be the mathematics involved but in the deepest recesses of human xenophobia - fear of the outsider.

Expect the "maverick" McCain camp to pull out all stops today to show just who the true outsider is - his Democratic rival.