Public Likes Edwards, but Race Is Still Close
By RICHARD W. STEVENSON and JANET ELDER
Published: July 17, 2004
WASHINGTON, July 16 - Senator John Edwards is viewed far more favorably than unfavorably by Americans in the aftermath of his introduction as Senator John Kerry's running mate, and the intensity of feeling for Mr. Kerry has deepened, among his backers in the presidential race, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.
But naming Mr. Edwards did not immediately win over any substantial number of voters for the Democratic ticket, and the campaign between Mr. Kerry and President Bush remains statistically deadlocked as Mr. Kerry heads toward the Democratic convention and his best opportunity to make a strong impression on the country, the poll found.
The poll also found that Mr. Bush's approval ratings were at low levels for an incumbent at this point in a presidential campaign and that for the first time a majority of Americans feel the United States should have stayed out of Iraq.
The results suggested that the country is as deeply divided as ever, leaving both sides struggling to alter the campaign's basic story line, in which Mr. Bush is showing clear vulnerabilities but Mr. Kerry has been unable to exploit them.
Mr. Kerry's greatest opportunity appears to remain Mr. Bush's handling of Iraq. Fifty-one percent of respondents said the United States should have stayed out of Iraq, up from 46 percent in April, May and June. Forty-five percent said taking military action in Iraq was the right thing to do, down slightly from the past several months.
Sixty-two percent said the war was not worth the loss of American lives and other costs, a figure that has risen steadily over the past few months.
Signaling that the White House may be running into trouble in its effort to portray Mr. Bush as the surer pair of hands when it comes to national security, the poll suggested that the nation was closely split over which party would make better decisions when it comes to Iraq. Forty-five percent said the Democrats were more likely to make the right decisions about the war and 41 percent said Republicans.
Although the pace and intensity of the campaign have increased this month, major developments over the past several weeks that could have helped one side or the other appeared to have limited impact.
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