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Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Undecideds Souring on Bush
Posted by SeamusThis poll out today from Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center ought to help re-establish a positive outlook for November. Undecideds have measurably dropped their support for Bush. According to the poll, "President George W. Bush's approval rating declined to 44 percent from 56 percent among undecided voters since the Republican National Convention." This is obviously a significant drop in support.
I also thought that this bit was important in light of Kerry's excellent assault on Bush's economic record today: "The poll found 32 percent of uncommitted, or 'persuadable,' voters approved of Bush's handling of the economy and 63 percent disapproved. In August, 39 percent approved and 54 percent disapproved." The only bad news was the continued support that Bush gets on terror issues.
Posted at 02:38 PM in General | Technorati
Comments
Appears to be good news for the Kerry camp.
Posted by: david at September 15, 2004 04:21 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
I'll believe it when I see it. And quite frankly, how many undecideds can there really be this late into the election year? Who are these people who can't make up their minds? I have to seriously question the people who at this point and time in our nation's history have no clue as for whom to cast their vote. Give me a break!!!!
Posted by: Pepe at September 15, 2004 04:57 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
Pepe, There are a lot of things to consider. I can see how someone who isn't too partisan could be undecided up until the election. For some they really have to be sold on voting for one candidate or another.
Posted by: Rock_nj at September 15, 2004 05:09 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
But Rock, aren't the choices pretty apparent? They have had four years to get to know Bush and decide if they want four more years with him. What more do they need to know about Kerry? You know, it's really very bizarre that it comes down to just 2 or 3 debates for some people. I find it hard to understand, but I guess some folks completely tune out politics until the very last minute.
Posted by: Pepe at September 15, 2004 06:09 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
There are some people who just aren't that concerned most of the time. People with better things to worry about, like taking care of the kids, working a job, and maybe going to school all at the same time. Women in general, and suburban women in particular are classic late deciders. Men tend to make up their mind quicker, at least this is what the convential wisdom is.
Posted by: Mark Olsen at September 15, 2004 06:58 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
People don't make time to make truly informed decisions. Which is why a good friend of mine always laments that we get always what we deserve. Sigh.
Posted by: Pepe at September 15, 2004 08:55 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
Pepe, trust me. There are all kinds of undecideds. Every week, I talk to politically ignorant people who "haven't made up their mind yet." Obviously, it's hard for us political junkies to comprehend how anyone could be undecided at this point, but in a nation where nearly half of the adult population doesn't even bother to vote, it's pretty obvious there's a lot of apathy out there. I overheard the women I work with responding to radio reports of the Bush National Guard controversy last week. They were all under the impression that both Bush and Kerry served in Vietnam, only that Kerry served there longer than Bush did. When you sit back and recognize the ignorance on Main Street, it's pretty clear how there can be people undecided between Bush and Kerry. Personally, I bvea third of Americans could change their mind between now and November 2.
Posted by: Mark at September 15, 2004 09:33 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
Also, something very important to remember in my opinion is the fact that undecideds tend to vote against the incumbant by a margin of 3 to 1. I think this election may very well end up looking a lot like the 1980 Presidential election. Kerry will wipe out any remaining convention bounce that Bush may have gotten from the GOP convention in the debates, and then he will close strong in the final couple of weeks to win this thing in a landslide. The fact is that at least 50% or more of Americans aren't sold on Bush, and this fact is extremely bad news for an incumbant. My prediction is that Kerry will win this thing over Bush by a margin of 52% 46% percent in the popular vote and at least 330 electoral votes.
Posted by: Ben at September 15, 2004 11:09 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment