54% Say Bush is Politically Conservative 46% Say Kerry is Liberal

Rasmussen Reports ^ | March 13, 2004

[demlosers]

March 13, 2004--While the top-line numbers for Election 2004 have remained stable for weeks, there is plenty of change going on just beneath the surface. A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 46% of American voters now view Senator John F. Kerry as politically liberal. That up from 41% in February and 37% at the end of January. The number seeing Kerry as moderate has declined to 36% from 39% in each of the earlier surveys.

President Bush is seen as conservative by 54% of the voting population. That's up from 50% in February and 48% in January. Twenty-nine percent (29%) see the President as politically moderate, down from 34% and 33% in the earlier surveys.

The President appears to be regaining lost ground among conservatives, 55% of whom now consider the President to be one of them. That's up from 49% and 46% in earlier surveys.

At the other end of the spectrum, just 27% of liberal voters see Senator Kerry as liberal. That figure is up slightly from 23% in the earlier surveys. Most liberal voters (56%) say Kerry is a moderate.

Among the narrow slice of voters who say they are undecided or will vote for somebody other than Bush or Kerry, 46% say the President is conservative while 24% say moderate. Thirty-five percent (35%) of that same group identifies Kerry as liberal, while 36% say moderate.

Twenty-seven percent (27%) of these swing voters identify themselves as conservative, 47% moderate, and 18% liberal.

Another measure of the shifting undercurrents can be found in the fact that 40% of voters now trust Bush more than Kerry when it comes to controlling government spending. Earlier surveys found that Kerry was considered more trustworthy on this issue.

A separate survey found that 45% of voters believe President Bush will be re-elected. Twenty-five percent (25%) think Kerry will win, and 27% expect another cliffhanger that is too close to call.

The national telephone survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports March 11-12, 2004. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. See Methodology

Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters
March 11-12, 2004

Election 2004
President Bush:

Conservative 54%
Moderate 29%
Liberal 8%

Election 2004
Senator Kerry:

Conservative 8%
Moderate 36%
Liberal 46%

[ThJ1800]

The President appears to be regaining lost ground among conservatives, 55% of whom now consider the President to be one of them.

I guess the gay marriage issue has helped him out in this area, but his spending habits, and expansion of government under W, are still concerns for me.

[MNnice]

Kerry is liberal and conservative, depending on who the audience is.

[MNnice]

What a meaningless poll.

[swilhelm73]

Kerry is the most leftwing candidate to ever capture a major party nomination in the United States as a matter of fact.

A fact that bears constant repeating. One can point to his congressional record and ratings for doubters...

[swilhelm73]

Most liberals say they are moderates too. It is this basic problem with honesty the left has...

[highlander_UW]

Too low.

I was trying to keep a positive outlook. ;)

[x]

For a lot of people, party affiliation and even ideological labels come from tradition or from what people around them think. They don't think things out from first principles, but take the label that the people around them have chosen. Then they vote on the basis of how the economy's doing. They aren't that interested in political questions as such, just in keeping their jobs or savings. It may be regrettable, but it's a fact of life now.

Also, I wonder how many people list themselves as "swing voters" not so much because they'd vote for the candidate of the other party, but because they are disillusioned with the candidate of the party closest to their own view. Maybe for some people it's not that they are undecided between the two candidates, but undecided between voting and not voting. Some one in the last election who was undecided between Gore and Nader, or between Bush and Buchanan, Browne or Phillips might also count as a "swing voter."

[Reagan79]

But Kucinich has a more conservative voting record than Kerry.

[writer33]

"For a lot of people, party affiliation and even ideological labels come from tradition or from what people around them think."

So much for rugged individualism. I like to think that a lot of this interpretation comes from media stories. Like Rush says, "These polls are nothing more than a reflection of media coverage."

I'd agree. People watch way too much television and believe far too much in these media reports and polls. You have valid points. But a lot of their perception comes from the media. This is why I don't even watch news anymore.

I only read papers when posting here at FR. And then, I don't believe half of what I read. It is merely to start discussion on political topics, or to uncover obvious bias in certain papers.

FR gives me all the information I'll ever need. It's nice, because I'm able to have a conversation with people that think beyond what the media thinks. They are rugged individuals and their intelligence shines through on this forum. With this, I don't and won't need to get my news from anywhere else. Everything else pales in comparison.

[SAJ]

Ah, so that's it.

Heh heh heh ...

[Owen]

Frankly, at this point, if you are polled, the correct answer to give is Nader. If we can get Nader's numbers up, he will be perceived as viable and more Dems will vote for him.

[dr_who_2]

Perceptions will inevitably kill ya.