Now, the Latest Polls,and Bush numbers!! Good News!!!!!:)
I believe Bush is very positive vs. the opponent, who is arrogant and negative.
Bush Overtakes Kerry
"Too liberal" tag sticking to Kerry
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
The "Liberal" Tag Sticking to Kerry
One of the more striking findings in the new poll is the increased public perception that Kerry is "too liberal." Four in 10 Americans (41%) now take this view, up from 29% in late January. At the same time, the percentage saying Kerry's views are "about right" has dropped from 46% to 37%.
PRINCETON, NJ -- After trailing Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry in voter support throughout much of the Democratic primary season, President George W. Bush has taken a slight lead in the race for president. According to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted March 26-28, Bush has picked up four points compared to early March, putting him slightly ahead of Kerry among registered voters: 49% to 46%. Earlier this month, Bush had trailed Kerry by five points, 45% to 50%.
By contrast -- and not unexpectedly given Americans' familiarity with the president -- perceptions of Bush's ideology have been quite stable so far this year. Americans are generally split between viewing Bush as too conservative (38%) and about right (40%), while 15% consider him too liberal.
Presumably, the more widely a candidate's views are perceived as "about right," the more appealing he or she will be to voters. Thus, the fact that Kerry has lost ground in this area, while Bush has stood his ground, could be considered a plus for Bush. A comparison of Bush's and Kerry's current ideology ratings shows that they now have near mirror images on this measure. Kerry is about as likely to be seen as too liberal as Bush is to be seen as too conservative, while roughly 4 in 10 Americans perceive both men as about right.
Perceptions of Candidates’ Ideology
March 26-28, 2004
More on the Horse Race
There has been no change over the past several weeks in the percentage of Republicans and Democrats supporting their own party's candidate, or in the candidate preferences of independents. Rather, the increase in support for Bush over the past few weeks comes mostly from an increase in the percentage of Americans identifying themselves as Republicans, and a comparable decline in self-identified Democrats. This could be the natural result of a shift in the political environment now that the Democratic primary season has concluded.
Indeed, Gallup also finds that Democratic voters are less likely to score as "likely voters" than they were in February and March. And as a result, the presidential race among likely voters is now very similar to where it stands among registered voters. Among the 50% of Americans deemed most likely to vote this fall, Bush holds a four-point lead over Kerry, 51% vs. 47%
Among national adults, there has also been a slight increase in support for Bush among men (from 48% to 55%). Women's support for Kerry has remained firm at 51% to 52%.
Survey Methods
These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,001 adults, aged 18 years and older, conducted March 26-28, 2004. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
URL:http://www.gallup.com/content/default.aspx?ci=11167
More Good News for Bush
There are several other positive indications of Bush's re-election chances in the new poll. To some degree, these may be logical extensions of his enhanced popularity, rather than causes of it. But there is also some evidence that voters have become less enthralled with Kerry than they were during the excitement of the Democratic primary season.
The percentage of Americans approving of the way Bush is handling his job as president increased slightly over the past month. Just over half the public, 53%, now approves of the way he is handling his job, while 44% disapprove. This is up from 50% approval in mid-March and is a statistically significant improvement over the 49% recorded earlier in the month.
Furthermore, while Bush's favorable image rating from the American people has remained stable at 56% to 57% over the past month, Kerry's favorable image has declined from 60% to 53%.
In retrospect, Kerry's positive image with Americans may have peaked in late January, shortly after he won the New Hampshire primary (following a surprise victory in the Iowa caucuses a week earlier). His win in New Hampshire catapulted him to front-runner status for the Democratic nomination -- and occurred before the Bush campaign began targeting Kerry in earnest. At that point, 61% of Americans had a favorable image of Kerry and only 23% had an unfavorable image of him. His image rating held at the 60% level in mid-February, but today has fallen to 53%. More than a third, 36%, now have an unfavorable image of him.
By contrast, Bush's image rating has held steady since mid-February, with 56% to 57% saying they have a favorable image of the president and 41% to 42% having an unfavorable image. These ratings are not as positive as what he enjoyed prior to the start of the Democratic primary season, but are a notable improvement over the 52% favorable rating he received in late January -- the same time that Kerry's image was soaring.
When factoring in the percentage viewing each candidate unfavorably, Bush and Kerry are about evenly matched today. This is in sharp contrast with the last two image measures taken between late January and mid-February, when Kerry's net favorable image was significantly greater than Bush's. Bush held a strong lead on this comparison in early January, but that was at a point when many Americans were still unfamiliar with Kerry. |
