The "Bounce" Trampoline Isn't Concrete After All
Reported by Eleanor - August 3, 2004 -
According to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll taken Friday to Sunday, Kerry has the support of 50 percent of all registered voters, compared to 44 percent for Bush, with independent Ralph Nader at 2 percent. On the eve of the convention, Bush led Kerry 48 percent to 46 percent. Among those most likely to vote, the race is tighter: Kerry holds a two-percentage-point advantage over Bush in the current poll.
Bush lost four points, and Kerry gained four points. That's the most significant finding in this poll, although the article doesn't point that out.
Comment: This Washington Post-ABC News poll suggests that Kerry benefited from the convention, in spite of the miserable coverage by the media of the democratic convention. "Interviewing for Newsweek and Gallup polls ended Friday and Saturday, respectively, while interviews for the Washington Post-ABC poll ended Sunday night." This article "spins" the results to minimize Kerry's six point lead among registered voters, but it's still there. See the entire article at: Convention Gives Kerry Slight Lead Over Bush.
Notice the word "slight." It could have said Kerry leads Bush by six points among registered voters, or Kerry took four points away from Bush, but the headline didn't say that. I'm certain it would have said, "Bush is six points ahead" in the headline, if the numbers had been reversed.
We're up against some formidable opponents who know how to use language to their advantage, and influence their readers to think inside "their" box, knowing that the average reader doesn't look for nuance and innuendo. Most readers don't have time for that, and just trust what they read. They absorb the information at a very surface level as reported.
What WE need to remember is that the democrats have millions of non-voters out there that we can put in the "registered" column if we work at it, and I think we're united enough this year to work at it. Unity of democrats is a republican nightmare.
