Kerry's disastrous Bush light campaign failing big time. He should be way ahead, but has now fallen behind Bush.
If the democrats cannot defeat Bush despite all that has happened the last few years, they deserve to sink into oblivion and disgrace IMHO. That might be a blessing in disguise and set the stage for a REAL opposition party.
Bush Moves Ahead of Kerry in Time Presidential Poll (Update2)
Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush has taken the lead against Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry with a little more than two months remaining before the U.S. election, according to the latest Time magazine poll.
If the election were held today, 46 percent of those polled would vote for Bush, 44 percent would select Kerry and 5 percent would pick independent candidate Ralph Nader, Time said. Three weeks ago following Kerry's acceptance of his party's nomination, a Time poll had him leading Bush 48 percent to 43 percent, with 4 percent choosing Nader. In a two-way race, both Bush and Kerry would get 46 percent of the vote.
The opinions of some voters may have shifted, Time said, after a group of war veterans ran television commercials in Ohio, Wisconsin and West Virginia claiming Kerry didn't deserve medals he was awarded for service in Vietnam. The Kerry camp denied the allegations and accused Bush supporters of waging a smear campaign.
``More than three in four have seen or heard the ads attacking Kerry's Vietnam military service record,'' with almost a third saying there is ``some truth'' to the accusations, the magazine said in a e-mailed statement.
The Time survey, conducted by phone Aug. 24 to Aug. 26, polled 1,206 registered voters, of whom 835 are likely to vote. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Economic Issue
In the Time magazine poll taken the week after the Democratic convention, 27 percent of respondents said the economy was the biggest election issue. The war on terrorism ranked second with 18 percent, Time said. That poll, conducted in mid- July, covered 1,202 adults, with an margin of error of 4 percentage points.
Kerry, 60, a four-term senator from Massachusetts, still leads Bush, 58, on the question of who would do a better job managing the economy, 46 percent to 43 percent, the magazine said, though the lead has slipped from 51 percent to 42 percent in the Time poll conducted Aug. 3 to Aug. 5.
The Commerce Department reported yesterday that the economy grew at a 2.8 percent annual rate from April through June, slower than estimated last month because high oil prices curbed consumer spending. The unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent last month from 5.6 percent in June, the lowest since October.
On whom voters trust to be commander in chief, 50 percent now say Bush and 42 percent Kerry, according to the Time survey. In early August, Kerry had the lead with 47 percent to 45 percent. On whom voters trust more to handle the situation in Iraq, Bush widened his lead to 49 percent to 41 percent for Kerry, from 46 percent to 44 percent in early August.
Swing Through Ohio
Bush spoke to Republican supporters today in Ohio, a state critical to his re-election, saying that tax cuts approved during his tenure are helping to revive the economy. It's his third bus trip to the state.
``We're heading in the right direction,'' Bush said in Troy, a manufacturing town west of the state capital of Columbus. The president is campaigning in swing states before heading to New York City on Wednesday for the Republican National Convention.
The U.S. economy added about 1.5 million new jobs in the past 12 months. Even so, Kerry blames Bush for a net loss of more than 1.1 million U.S. jobs in the past three years.
``The middle class squeeze is still strangling many families,'' Kerry campaign spokesman Phil Singer said in an e- mailed statement. ``Over 55,000 people are unemployed in counties where the president is visiting. Ohio can do better.''
Kerry is campaigning today in Tacoma, Washington, a state won by former Vice President Al Gore by 5.89 percent in 2000. Kerry will start a brief vacation tomorrow, while the Republicans hold their convention.
The U.S. election will be held Nov. 2. |
