Wavering Voters Have Doubts About Bush
By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Voters who haven't firmly committed to a presidential candidate are in a sour mood.
They tend to be more disapproving of President Bush (news - web sites), have a gloomier view of the economy and be more likely to think the country is headed down the wrong track. The mood of these persuadable voters prompted one veteran Republican strategist to warn the Bush campaign that dramatic steps are needed to prevent them from bolting to Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites).
Republican strategist Tony Fabrizio, the pollster for Republican Bob Dole's presidential run in 1996, warned the GOP about the sour mood of undecided voters in battleground states, a small slice of the uncommitted voters in the electorate.
Fabrizio, who supports Bush, wrote in a July 8 memo that such voters are "poised to break away from President Bush and to John Kerry."
"Clearly if these undecided voters were leaning any harder against the door of the Kerry camp, they would crash right through it," he wrote, suggesting the president do more to convince voters the economy is recovering and take a more aggressive stance in defining Kerry.
With polls suggesting voters are very interested in the election this year, strategists on both sides and independent analysts say they doubt negative campaigning will suppress voter turnout.
"If you're interested in the election, you're going to vote," said Democratic consultant Jim Duffy. "People realize this is a pivotal election."
Persuadable voters in a Associated Press poll taken by Ipsos-Public Affairs early this month were more likely to say the country was headed down the wrong track — 63 percent compared with 56 percent overall.
They were more likely to disapprove of Bush's handling of the economy — 56 percent compared with 50 percent overall — and more likely to disapprove of Bush's handling of other domestic issues like health care and education — 59 percent to 52 percent overall. They also were more concerned about the economy than voters generally.
Persuadable voters include those who are undecided and those whose support for a candidate was weak.
Bush campaign strategist Matthew Dowd counseled Republican patience during a period that was likely to see Kerry getting a bump in the polls from the upcoming Democratic National Convention.
"These undecideds are people that shift back and forth a lot based on current events," Dowd said.
Perceptions of the economy are improving, Dowd said, and the Bush campaign will be advertising about what the president would do in a second term while continuing to run ads critical of Kerry.
The president last week began to outline his plans for a second term — talking in general terms about expanding access to health care, improving efforts to prepare high school graduates to get jobs, and changing Social Security (news - web sites). The Bush campaign promises to provide details in the coming weeks. |
