I know you're new, but this is NOT hurting Bush as all the polls show!!
I just don't think it's a good thing to have this much attention paid to this issue. It takes him off message, it allows the Democrats to keep trying to chip away at his credibility during the non-stop interview cycle on the story, and it let's Kerry regroup far removed from the scrutiny he'd been receiving.
I'm encouraged by a few state polls I've seen, but you can't say "all the polls" say this isn't hurting him. The only two national polls I've seen since this started were the IBD poll, which had Kerry up by one nationwide, and the Harris poll, which had them tied. I hope those are wrong.
And, as I feared, the Pew poll just released today has Bush and Kerry tied. That means three national polls since this story broke show Bush's lead wiped out. Only Rasmussen has him ahead, and that's only by four.
The effect of the story could be short-lived, as more and more people come to learn the documents were forged. But I've never thought such relentless attention to this kind of story would help him, and I still don't. I think these poll numbers bear me out.
But I guess I'm just a "newbie" who doesn't know anything.
Although I'm seeing the Gallup poll is showing Bush up by 14. Boy, I hope that's right.