August 30, 2004
SUBTLE AS A TRAIN WRECK:
Democratic strategists say Bush has made 'unmistakable' gains in August (Will Lester, August 30, 2004, ASSOCIATED PRESS)
President Bush has gained ground on Democrat John Kerry in the month of August because of "relatively small but unmistakable" shifts in the political environment, Democratic strategists said in a memo released Monday.The polling memo by Democracy Corps, a group led by pollster Stan Greenberg and strategist James Carville, said the subtle gains by Bush have knotted the race again after Kerry had a slight advantage after the Democratic National Convention in late July.
The task before Mr. Bush at his convention is pretty modest--he needs to bump his approval ratings up about 3% to the 55% range, which positions him for a landslide victory (over 10%). Posted by Orrin Judd at August 30, 2004 7:15 PM
Speaking of train wrecks, George Bush says we can't win the war on terror. (Interview on "Today" program.) But we are supposed to trust him more than Kerry? To do what?
Posted by: Joel Thomas at August 30, 2004 9:25 PMFight it.
Posted by: David Cohen at August 30, 2004 9:34 PMThe Washington Post just released an 8/30 poll that shows a tie at 48%. The internals, though, look pretty dismal for Kerry. The article, for example, mentions an 18 point spread on who can best conduct the war on terror. Strength of support, moreover, is 54% (Bush) versus 40% (Kerry). Cabana Boy may want to lay in a supply of pumice stone -- looks like its gonna be a long winter.
Posted by: Fred Jacobsen (San Fran) at August 30, 2004 10:45 PMI finally heard the context of the "can't win" comment, and my instincts were correct. It was taken out of context, in that he said it wasn't going to be winnable during his second term. No surpise either that the distortion has immediately become a talking point, because distortion is all the Dems have left.