MAYBE HE WILL GET TO DOT THE "I":

Plain Dealer poll: Bush leads Kerry in Ohio 50-42 (Associated Press, 9/18/04)

President Bush leads Sen. John Kerry by 50 percent to 42 percent in Ohio, a state considered crucial by both campaigns, a new poll indicates. Two percent of those surveyed supported Ralph Nader.

The poll commissioned by The Plain Dealer for its Sunday edition was conducted from Sept. 10 to Tuesday by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research of Washington, D.C. It was based on interviews with 1,500 registered voters who plan to vote Nov. 2. The margin of error was 2.5 percentage points.

A May poll by the newspaper showed Bush leading 47 percent to 41 percent. Six percent in the most recent poll said they were undecided, down from 9 percent in May.

A CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll taken Sept. 4 to 7 showed 52 percent of people surveyed in Ohio said they would support Bush and 44 percent backed Kerry. Two percent of the 661 likely voters questioned by telephone said they would vote for Nader, and 4 percent were undecided.

Bush beat Al Gore in Ohio by 3.6 percentage points in 2000.

By what delusional calculus was Mr. Bush going to do worse as an incumbent in a Republican state than he did as a challenger?

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 18, 2004 7:25 PM