WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Convention boosted voters' perceptions of John Kerry's leadership on critical issues, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll finds. But it failed to give him the expected bump in the head-to-head race against President Bush.
In the survey, taken Friday and Saturday, the Democratic ticket of Kerry and John Edwards trailed the Republican ticket of Bush and Dick Cheney 50% to 46% among likely voters, with independent candidate Ralph Nader at 2%.
Before the convention, the two were essentially tied, with Kerry at 47%, Bush at 46%.
The change in support was within the poll's margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points in the sample of 763 likely voters. But it was nonetheless a stunning result, the first time in the Gallup Poll since the 1972 Democratic convention that a candidate seemed to lose ground at his convention.
USA TODAY extended its survey Sunday night and tonight to get a fuller picture of what's happening with the electorate.
Translation: USA TODAY extended its survey Sunday night and tonight to ask different questions in different ways until we get the results that our Demolib handlers have requested.
To be more accurate, the drop was 5 points.
Bush gained 4 after the convention, Kerry lost 1.
The TV shot of Michael Moore sitting in the prez box with former president Jimmy Carter did nothing to engender confidence in the democ'rats and the Kerry/Edwards ticket ... that was a major faux pas. Michael Moore will disappear from the Kerry/Edwards political band wagon ... guaranteed.