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Kerry narrows Bush lead
23/09/2004 18:27 - (SA)
Washington - Democrat John Kerry has narrowed President George W Bush's lead in their White House race less than six weeks before the November 2 election, a new poll showed on Thursday.
Massachusetts senator among registered voters with independent Ralph Nader pulling 2%. Bush led 50-46 among likely voters.
The survey suggested a rebound for Kerry after several polls in the last two weeks gave the Republican president a lead of two to 13 points coming off the Republican national convention in New York.
Significantly, the NBC/Wall Street Journal study was conducted from last Friday to Sunday, a day before Kerry delivered a major speech on Iraq credited with sharpening his message and giving his campaign new momentum.
The poll showed that, at least before the speech at New York University, 54% of respondents said the Democrat did not have a message and had not made it clear what he would do if elected.
This compared to 68% who thought Bush had enunciated a message to back up his claim to a second, four-year term.
The poll also highlighted Kerry's problems among women voters, where his 48-45% lead was still significantly lower than the margin of about 10 percentage points that Democrat Al Gore had in the 2000 election.
A surprisingly large 42% of women interviewed cited terrorism and values as their priority, benefiting the president who has consistently rated higher in his ability to command the war on terror.
Bush was also on top in an NBC analysis of the 538 electoral votes which are distributed among the states and won in separate, mostly winner-take-all contests to decide the presidency.
The television network had Bush leading in states with a total of 222 of the 270 electoral votes needed for victory, Kerry ahead in states with 200 and 116 votes considered a toss-up.
But the NBC/Wall Street Journal also had equally worrying signs for Bush.
It showed his job approval rating at 47%, historically dangerous for presidents seeking re-election. A majority were unhappy with the way he handled the economy and foreign policy; only on fighting terrorism did he rate highly.
The survey was published a week before Bush and Kerry hold the first of three televised presidential debates that could be crucial in determining the outcome of the race.
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