President Bush Overtakes Kerry In L.A. Times Poll

The Los Angeles Times reports that its latest poll has found President Bush leading Kerry for the first time this year. The result 49 to 46 among registered voters is within the poll's margin of error.

According to the Times:

With independent voters splitting evenly in the survey between the two men, one key to Bush's tentative new advantage was his greater success at consolidating his base. While just 3 percent of voters who called themselves Republicans said they would vote for Kerry, Bush drew 15 percent of all Democrats, and 20 percent of Democrats who consider themselves moderate or conservative, the poll found.

The Times poll has encouraging news for President Bush:

Bush slightly widened his advantage over Kerry when voters were asked which was a strong leader and which had the honesty and integrity to serve as president. Following the poll's general trend, the percentage of voters who said they viewed Kerry favorably slipped from 58 percent in July to 53 percent in August, while the percentage who viewed him unfavorably ticked up from 36 percent to 41 percent. Bush's ratings, by contrast, were virtually unchanged from last month in this poll with 53 percent viewing him favorably and 46 percent unfavorably.

At the same time the poll is full of bad news for Kerry:

In the July Times Poll, 53 percent of voters said Kerry in his Vietnam combat missions had demonstrated the "qualities America needs in a president" while just 32 percent said by "protesting the war in Vietnam, John Kerry demonstrated a judgment and belief that is inappropriate in a president."

In the August survey, that balance nudged away from Kerry, with 48 percent saying he had demonstrated the right qualities and 37 percent saying he exhibited poor judgment.

The poll also found Kerry's favorable and unfavorable ratings are both heading in the wrong direction:

Following the poll's general trend, the percentage of voters who said they viewed Kerry favorably slipped from 58 percent in July to 53 percent in August, while the percentage who viewed him unfavorably ticked up from 36 percent to 41 percent. Bush's ratings, by contrast, were virtually unchanged from last month in this poll with 53 percent viewing him favorably and 46 percent unfavorably.

In addition, the Times poll demonstrates the poor judgement of basing Kerry's entire campaign on his brief experiences in Vietnam instead of his more recent, and much more lengthy years of U.S. Senate experiences. Only 58 percent of those polled know even a fair amount about the policies Kerry would pursue as president, while nearly four in ten said they knew not much or nothing at all about Kerry's policies.

Comments

[nicola Iacovetti]

What does Germany have to do with our National Defense? Bush was legal, the Germans and the French were not. I am sick and tired of these foreign countries, along with that useless United Nations, dictacting our foreign policies! Germany, Remember W.W.1? My father wasn't even an American citizen and went over with the 2nd.
Dividion to fight the Germans. I and my brother enlisted after Pearl Harbor, so we could fight the horrible evil that was spreading throughout Europe and Asia! Judging from past history,I'd say that the French, Germans, and the Russians should leep their mouths closed! Don't forget, we bailed France out 3 different times in the opast. French Indo China, W.W.1, and W.W. 2. That's gratitude for you.

A didgusted W.W.2 Vet!

A W.W.2 Vet!

[german]

all i know from a european point of view is that bush and his administration are absolutely incompetent. after everything that has came out about his time as the *wannabepresidentofacountrywhodidntelecthim* and his administration, who went illegal ways in sooo many situations. It is almost inconsiderable, that he has not been impeached yet, when the country, united in that opinion, wanted to impeach the president with the most foreign-politics-potential since J.F.K because of an affair he had, in his personal life. europe is waiting for you americans, to either prove us better, or make us loose the last bit of hope again,that michael moore has brought to us. think about it