wow,

The internals aren’t that great for Kerry either. This is sobering stuff, but as Instapundit points out, it ain’t even labor day yet.

What I did find heartening was the swing toward Bush’s handling of the WOT. That’s a very good sign that America is seeing this for what it is a long term battle against a ruthless enemy.

Posted by: skip at September 3, 2004 03:57 PM

I also have always wondered, on those “Do you approve of Bush’s handling of the war” questions, how many of the “disapprove” people disapprove because they think Bush isn’t pressing it hard enough. I’m sure the vast majority in that category are simply “anti-war” or whatever, but I bet the other category is non-trivial.

Posted by: David C at September 3, 2004 04:04 PM

Good point, David C. That’s one of the weaknesses of a simple yes/no survey without sufficient follow-up probing.

Posted by: FredRum at September 3, 2004 04:08 PM

That’s rather quick turnaround for a poll…and I’m tempted to disregard it considering that RR has Bush holding steady at 49.

Sitting this one out

Posted by: Lakhim at September 3, 2004 05:01 PM

You post critiquing the poll, but profess to be sitting this one out. I think you’ve contracted Kerry’s schyzophrenia.

Posted by: TL at September 3, 2004 08:18 PM

Waiting for more polls to come out…

Posted by: Lakhim at September 3, 2004 08:53 PM

Go to pollingreport.com for a summary of all the polls except Rasmussen which is a daily poll.

Note that Rasmussen has Bush at 49 for two straight days… the first time Bush has held a 4 point lead for more than one day since March.

The Rasmussen poll also has the President at 54% approval rating… his highest since Kerry won the primary fight. This number does not reflect the impact from the President’s speech nor Sen. Miller or the VPs speech (interviews covered only through mid day Wednesday.) Saturday’s number will include the keynote and VP speech impact.

The next poll out will most likely be either the Gallup or Fox. NPR is due for an update also.

More surprising to me was Zogby which has consistly tracked Kerry ahead of Bush (Zogby has already predicted a Kerry victory), but now shows Bush up by 2 points —- a 3 point increase for the President and a 6 point drop for Kerry. Zogby is hedging his early call by saying that his numbers may be premature and wants another round to confirm the President’s trend.

Posted by: steve at September 3, 2004 11:07 PM

My wife keeps telling me it’s going to be a landslide for the President. I’ve always had an intuition that she was right, but there’s just so many left wing, flaming liberals… It does sure look like Magic hat Kerry’s going down in flames.. Was he drunk last night or what?

Posted by: Deusrex at September 4, 2004 01:23 AM

Did you catch madame Hillary this eve. Talking about dear old hubby who just had a heart attack, she was cold as ice…no emotion… God help us… she’s gonna run in 08 and I agree with Michael Savage she is the Anti-Christ!

Posted by: Deusrex at September 4, 2004 01:26 AM

Speaking of poll, here is an interesting result from AOL members today:

How would you rate the Republican National Convention?

Excellent 62%
Poor 18%
Good 12%
Fair 8%

How did it change your opinion of George Bush?

For the positive 48%
It didn’t change my mind 37%
For the negative 12%
I didn’t follow the convention 3%

Which was better?

The Republican National Convention 73%
The Democratic National Convention 27%

Total Votes: 197,968

Note on Poll Results: Poll results are not scientific and reflect the opinions of only those users who chose to participate. Poll results are not reflected in real time.

Posted by: Blog4Fun at September 4, 2004 01:49 AM

Wow, after studying the AOL poll, I’ve come to the conclusion that only 27% of Democrats know how to use the internet! Am I right, or were they originally left behind when in grade school by their liberal teachers?

Posted by: dickmr at September 4, 2004 03:50 AM

..dickmr…ahh, you going to h*ll for that one,the lib`s are po`d and as soon as their cic gives the word the spitballs are coming,,duck…incoming…….

Posted by: Rob_NC at September 4, 2004 07:18 AM

It could also be because stories like this :

Navy Launches Formal Kerry Medal Probe
The United States Navy has launched an official investigation into John Kerry’s Vietnam War decorations…In launching the formal probe the Navy was responding to a referral from the Pentagon’s inspector general’s office - based on a complaint filed by the Washington-based legal watchdog group Judicial Watch, Fox News reported Friday.,,,

are circulating, although not in most mainstream media.

Not only that, but also Kerry’s underhanded dealings with China, his “secret” meeting with China, which he refuses to talk about as well.
While Kerry tells his loony left followers he’s against shipping out jobs to China, he actually endorses it.

The China appeasers also scream “engagement” when China’s horrible human and labor rights record threatens trade. John Kerry joined that appeasement chorus in September 2000, claiming it would actually help human and labor rights. In fact, Kerry supported the move of U.S. jobs to China under the favored trade act.

“I support PNTR and I intend to vote for it. I will admit to you that when I read recent press accounts of yet another crackdown on religious practitioners in China - this time members of a Christian sect called the China Fang-Cheng Church - and of the deaths of three Falung Gong members who have been imprisoned - I understood once more the temptation to reverse my position and vote against PNTR,” said Kerry.

“But I am not going to do that Mr. President, because PNTR is not an effective tool for changing China’s behavior at home or abroad - and as much as we detest the behavior in China with regard to religious freedom, it is not symbolic protest that will bring about change, but thoughtful approaches and a new and different kind of engagement -economic as well as diplomatic - that will leverage real change in China in the years ahead,” noted Kerry.

“In China, workers cannot form or join unions and strikes are prohibited. There are no meaningful environmental standards and the prevalent use of forced labor make production in China extremely inexpensive. Because they cannot bargain collectively, Chinese workers are paid extremely low wages and are subject to unsafe working conditions,” admitted Kerry.

“It is my hope and belief that as U.S. firms move into China, they will bring with internationally-accepted business practices that may actually raise labor and environmental standards in China. I also hope that they will provide opportunities for Chinese workers to move from state-owned to privately-owned companies, or from one private company to another, where the conditions are better. Engagement is a course best pursued by granting China Permanent Normal Trade Relations,” concluded Kerry.

Engagement = Appeasement

The engagement buzzword hype that Kerry pushed in 2000 has failed. So far, China has not changed. Workers still cannot strike, bargain collectively or join unions. China, despite its WTO membership and the sacred trade treaties with the U.S., has not lightened up on its labor or human rights profile.

Kerry’s silence on these issues is only exceeded by his flip-flop politics. The DNC recently sponsored a series of ads stating that it was George Bush’s fault that jobs had moved to China. George Bush, however, did not make China PNTR trade the official law of America - John Kerry did by voting yes.

Kerry spent only 30 seconds talking about his Senate record in a speech that lasted nearly an hour during the DNC convention. Today, Kerry would rather argue events of 30 years ago than his voting record four years ago.

Senator Kerry’s policy of appeasement is favored in Beijing because the ruthless Chinese leaders know it will become U.S. policy if the Senator makes it into the White House.

lets see Kerry flip flop on that one. And that’s just the tip of the iceburg. there is also the satalite technology China obtained during the Clinton years, which kerry suppored as well. Along with that went missle technology.
Everything is going against kerry, from his war medal fraud, to his underhanded dealings with communist countries, undermining national security, to his senate record. None of which he want’s to talk about.
That doesn’t leave kerry anything to talk about, other than to stonewall the issues and remain tight lipped. He will remain on the defensive right up to voting day it looks like.

Posted by: Grand Ayatollah Nathan at September 4, 2004 09:42 AM

Newsweek, Sept. 2-3, 1,008 RV, MoE +/-3 (Results from late July Newsweek poll in parentheses)

Three-way race:

George W. Bush-Dick Cheney 52 percent (42)
John Kerry-John Edwards, 41 percent (49)
Ralph Nader-Peter Camejo, 3 percent (3)
Unsure, 4 percent (6)

Two-way race:

George W. Bush, 54 percent (44)
John Kerry, 43 percent (52)
Unsure, 3 percent (4)

Posted by: CERDIP at September 4, 2004 02:00 PM

According to the New Republic, the poll tracks exactly mimic the 1980 race. So it’s going to be Kerry if he doesn’t blow the debates. If he screws them up, then it’s Bush.

Posted by: ericl at September 5, 2004 08:27 AM

The Kerry campaign is adding more power hitters to its line up. I can not assume that this was not planned in advance, but it appears to be indicating some discomfort and dissatisfaction in how things are going for Kerry just now. Still nothing solid on approaches or strategies from the campaign trail either… just accusations of a very negative RNC and threats that the Democrats are going to take the gloves off. All they can hope for in the interim from the media is short sound bites from pre-planned and friendly gatherings and that is not enough to convince people of Kerry’s credentials. But, if he calls a press conference to discuss his strategies, the reporters will most likely take him to issues and challenges he would prefer not visiting. Sort of a damn if you do and damn if you don’t proposition.

As for the current theme seen this Sunday on teh talk shows: the Republicans ran a very negative convention —- well, that is news… considering all the Bush bashing that has been going on since the start of the Democratic primary.

The one thing the apologists for Kerry are trying to ignore about the RNC is the very favorable ratings it got among most veiwers, and especially among independents and women. Maybe if they continue to whine about the mean ol’ conservatives long enough and loud enough, maybe people will believe them… or maybe the effect of the RNC will just go away.

Publically, they can not admit to any adverse impact, but the quick reshuffle of top campaign operatives may be a sign of how things are really being viewed inside the brain trust.

Posted by: steve at September 6, 2004 12:36 AM