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Politics : Proof that John Kerry is Unfit for Command -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Carragher who wrote (4365)	8/29/2004 7:00:59 PM
From: GROUND ZERO™	Respond to of 27181

Yes, and that's probably the origin of the phrase "toe jam." GZ

To: John Carragher who wrote (4365)	8/29/2004 7:01:53 PM
From: Andrew N. Cothran	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27181

Bush Gains With Florida Votes and Closes in Pennsylvania. August 28, 2004 As the Republican Party gears up for the start of their national convention Monday, polls are showing President Bush making gains in Florida and Pennsylvania and even making inroads among Sunshine state Democrats. newsmax.com In both states veterans are playing a key role. Story Continues Below In Florida a statewide poll this week of 400 veterans conducted for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Florida Times-Union showed a clear preference for the incumbent commander-in-chief, with Bush leading Kerry by 56 percent to 39 percent in the Florida poll, with 1 percent for independent Ralph Nader and 4 percent undecided, the Sun-Sentinel reported. In Pennsylvania the IssuesPA/Pew poll of likely voters shows Bush leading Kerry by 45 percent to 44 percent. Among all registered voters, the Massachusetts senator leads Bush, 45 percent to 43 percent, according to the Knoxville News. Most surprising were the results of a poll of 500 Democrats and 500 Republicans, released Friday by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., which showed that 11 percent of Democrats are willing to vote for Bush on Nov. 2, compared to just 5 percent of Republicans who said they would cross over for Kerry, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. And while only 18 percent of Democrats consider themselves conservative, more than one-third of conservative Democrats said they will vote for Bush. "I think we're seeing brand loyalty that largely disregards the product," Florida State University political science professor Jeffrey Mondak said of the twin surveys. "The strong partisan divide seems to suggest that people are substituting party identity for thinking on issues independently." In both states the issue of the Vietnam service of Bush and Kerry loomed large. Floridians asked whether they think Kerry is being honest about his U.S. Navy service in Vietnam, 36 percent said "yes," 33 percent said "no," and 31 percent were not sure. Asked if they think Bush is being honest about his Air National Guard service, 42 percent said "yes," 31 percent said "no" and 27 percent were not sure. Bush, however fared better than Kerry in the overall results of the poll of veterans, reflecting a slice of the electorate that tends to favor Republicans based in part on the perception that the GOP puts a higher priority on the nation's defense, the Sun-Sentinel reported. Other poll results showed: 50 percent of the veterans said they think Bush "can better handle the situation in Iraq," while 35 percent named Kerry and 15 percent were unsure. 55 percent said Bush can better handle the war on terrorism, while 33 percent said Kerry and 12 percent were unsure. Pennsylvania voters listed among their most important concerns the economy (17 percent), Iraq (17 percent), health care (17 percent) and terrorism/security (16 percent). Bush is overwhelmingly preferred by voters who care most about terrorism, 71 percent to 22 percent, but Kerry has an edge among voters who listed the other concerns high. The Swift Boat controversy has had an effect in both states. In Florida veterans' preferences were based on a range of issues going well beyond the military backgrounds of the candidates but many questioned the honesty and trustworthiness of one candidate or the other, based mostly on their actions after the war. "Their service was OK for both of them. The after-war activities by Kerry were not so good," said Robert Pachucki, 54, of Coral Springs, a Vietnam War veteran who called Bush an honest man. "Kerry didn't just participate [in anti-war demonstrations], he was a leader. Those poor men who died over there, he might have known some of them. Their families probably had a sense they were dying for nothing after he got done with it. "I just don't trust Kerry. Based on his record, I would almost be afraid he would sabotage the military." Seventy-nine percent of likely Republican voters backed Bush on the Iraq war, 12 percent said it was a mistake to invade, and 83 percent felt the administration is making progress in fighting terrorism. By contrast, 76 percent of Democrats felt invading Iraq was a mistake. Only 25 percent thought the war on terror is making gains while 59 percent said it isn't. Mondak, the LeRoy Collins professor of political science at FSU, studies voter behavior and voting trends. He said "there's a negligible difference" between the Bush and Kerry positions on the Iraq war, yet Democrats and Republicans showed they will "follow the leader" despite disagreement on issues. "The same Republicans who blasted Bill Clinton in 1992 for not serving in Vietnam now think it's more honorable for George Bush not to have gone," Mondak said. "And to Democrats, it seems that the greatest virtue John Kerry possesses is that he is not George Bush." newsmax.com