The Bleeding Stops: Rasmussen 10/8 Bush 48 Kerry 46

Rasmussen ^ | Oct 8, 2004 | Rasmussen

[Owen]

Friday October 08, 2004--On the day of the second Presidential Debate, the Rasmussen Reports Presidential Tracking Poll shows President George W. Bush with 48% of the vote and Senator John Kerry with 46%. The Tracking Poll is updated daily by noon Eastern.

Regardless of who they want to win, 53% of voters think President Bush will be re-elected.

[Raycpa]

The only thing I really pay attention to on Ras is his JA number. That has been over 51% since July, as high as 55%. No president has ever lost with that kind of JA rating. Ever.

This is circular logic. If a majority are voting for Bush then of course they think he is doing a good job. People are not going to say they are voting for a guy who isn't doing the job.

[LS]

"If he fails, it will be a 2000 repeat"

Well, as I recall, we won that.

I think Bush is looking much bigger picture than his own election---oh, that is first and foremost---but like in 2002, he is also thinking "strategery" about these senate seats. I still maintain that there was something involved in the first debate that somehow is tied to these races (I know, kookville) but the fact is, the Dems were THAT CLOSE to yanking the money from Kerry and moving it to the senate races. His "good" performance in Debate #1 kept that money in place :)

[hoosiermama]

IMO Bush needs to relax and enjoy.....His sense of humor needs to prevail.....He knows his facts....Let Kerry hang himself.....Like he did yesterday in his "new conference"!

[Republic Rocker]

We are at about 53% JAR. Kerry can't get past 50% on anything........ America understands what a loser this guy is and what a bad commander in chief he would be. Only the MSM is making this a race and and as we saw with the blatant attempt by cBS it is a losing proposition.......

[Raycpa]

but another bad performance will blow this thing open.

Not really. His expectations has been greatly reduced. He just needs to meet or exceed expectations which after the past debate has been lowered. Heck, all he needs to do is show up after the spin given about how bad he was.

[chalkman]

I agree. I don't think Kerry will ever have more people liking him then not. Human nature is repulsed by him.

[moose2004]

The key is the Electoral College, and the key State is OHIO because I believe Florida is safely for Bush. OHIO, OHIO, OHIO!!! Go Buckeyes!!! Go Bush!!!

[LS]

I have seen Kerry at only 50% on ONE poll, ONE TIME. Almost all other Kerry polls have him at 45-47%.

Figure MOE, it's entirely possible that he is at 42%.

[johnnycap]

"I agree. Nothing makes the DUmmies happier than to see us down..."

You know, not everyone on here is a Republican. And those of us who aren't are not necessarily "dummies". There are conservative democrats here who believe the president is doing the right thing. Give us some respect please...

[LS]

Not really, but think what you want.

[Owen]

You aren't going to see that. Bush need not be spectacular at all. All he has to do is show up and appear more comfortable, answer questions, and not ramble.

The bar for him is very low tonight. The word improvement will be hard for the press to keep out of the stories and that's all that has to happen.

I think it's very possible if he does even competently tonight he'll just forgo the final debate. If domestic issues are mentioned tonight he can accurately say they were already covered. Arizona is the site of the final debate and they won't care. There may also be a good excuse that can be manufactured -- perhaps the Iraq offensive.

The point being, if he's substantially ahead and the clock is running out, there will be no point in putting the ball in the air.

[Nataku X]

Um, you do know DUmmies refer to the posters of Democratic Underground, don't you?

[Raycpa]

the Dems were THAT CLOSE to yanking the money from Kerry and moving it to the senate races.

Interesting.

[chalkman]

Are you implying that you are one of them? Just out of curiosity. I have no problem with dems as long as they are frozen and in cells...:)

[beckysueb]

I heard Bridgette Quinn on FoxNews this morning questioning how long Kerry could use the same line (He misled the American people) before people start to get tired of it so it sounds like the media wants something else. Translation- The media knows if they are tired of it, then so are the voters.

[Nataku X]

I wouldn't go that far. In fact, I would love to offer every Democrat a free vacation in Greece from now to November 3rd. :-)

[Rokke]

As a point of reference, Mondale "beat" Reagan by 19 points in the Gallup poll concerning their first debate. Reagan beat Mondale by only 3 points in their second debate which was remembered as his great comeback. He went on to win an electoral landslide.

[Raycpa]

You know, not everyone on here is a Republican. And those of us who aren't are not necessarily "dummies".

Your condition is curable. Contrary to popular belief its not something you are born with.

[Owen]

>
but the fact is, the Dems were THAT CLOSE to yanking the money from Kerry and moving it to the senate races. His "good" performance in Debate #1 kept that money in place :)
>

I doubt it was contrived, but if so there was a better reason than this to keep Kerry viable. The Torricelli option.

[LS]

Whether deliberate or not, Bush's "performance" in the first debate kept the money nailed to faint hopes that Kerry might win.

How important, now, are those TERRIBLE choices made by the GOP in Nevada, Illinois, Arkansas, Washington, and California? We are going to be kicking ourselves on Nov. 3 for not having put forward better candidates when it might have been an outside shot of taking that 60-vote margin in the Senate. (Course, there would still be that "Chafee moment" to deal with).