Sorry, I was in a hurry for a meeting, and wasn't very clear. The numbers represent how much you have to add for Kerry to normalize the data to SUSA. So for Rasmussen, if you add 3.9 you get a result which would be comporable to what SUSA would be expected to show.
I hope that's clear. If it's not, I can explain further.
I'm using SUSA as the base line poll because it was one of the most accurate state polls last time (second behind Mason-Dixon, if I'm not mistaken) and they have quite a few polls out. Also in independent analysis I've done on the election, so far in 2004, they have been the most accurate (this is on the average of course -- any given state can have an odd result).
Oh, now I get it. That makes sense. Of course, selecting SUSA is a shot in the dark -- based on historical data which may or may not be indicative of future results.
For national polls, the same method would require picking Zogby as the baseline - based on 2000 results. Which may have been more about luck in guessing the partisan turnout.