Time Magazine Poll
Posted by Moonage on 04 Sep 2004 | Tagged as: 2004 Presidential Election
Time Magazine ran a poll almost coinciding with the RNC. It had a rather remarkable conclusion: Bush 52% to Kerry 41%. That’s a pretty profound leap from the “deadlocked” race the media has been touting for months. Not only that, but it was a three-way ballot, which means Bush actually stands to get a majority of voters for the first time since Reagan.
It also broke the results down into several categories. The most interesting and telling I thought was this:
The economy: 47% trust President Bush more to handle the economy, while 45% trust Kerry.
Health care: 48% trust Senator Kerry to handle health care issues, while 42% trust Bush.
Iraq: 53% trust Bush to handle the situation in Iraq, while 41% trust Kerry.
Terrorism: 57% trust Bush to handle the war on terrorism, while 36% trust Kerry.
Understanding the needs of people: 47% said they trust Kerry to understand the needs of people like themselves, while 44% trusted Bush to understand their needs.
Providing strong leadership: 56% said they trust Bush to provide strong leadership in difficult times, while 37% said they trust Kerry to provide leadership in difficult times.
Tax policy: 49% trust Bush to handle tax policy, while 40% trust Kerry.
Commanding the Armed Forces: 54% said they trust Bush to be commander-in-chief of the armed forces, while 39% said they trust Kerry.
The bolded areas are pretty significant gaps for this time of the race. Of those thousand people polled, a big majority feel Bush is the stronger president. I think this plays right into what I have been harping on here, that Kerry is so defensive about his experiences in Vietnam, that he is perceived to be easily distracted by personal issues. He’s been hung up on Vietnam for a month now, suing the SBV’s, demanding Bush apologize for them, etc.. The issue has never helped Kerry in the first place, and it’s hurting him now as he has allowed his campaign to flounder on one issue that is not important. People want details to the economy, taxation, and other domestic issues, and Kerry’s not providing them. Kerry should be creaming Bush in areas such as the economy, but now he’s losing big time. It’s because people have waited more than long enough for answers to why he would be better, and he hasn’t given them. After watching both conventions, people are apparently making up their minds now. Kerry got no bounce from the DNC, Bush apparently got a big bounce preceding, and at least immediately following the RNC.
From this point on, this race is Bush’s to lose.
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