George W. Bush made slight gains from the Republican National Convention on two important comparisons with John Kerry among the general public. But his standing among persuadable voters may be worse now than it was in August, the University of Pennsylvania’s National Annenberg Election Survey shows.
Polling conducted from Friday, September 3, the night after the convention, through Sunday, September 12 showed that 54 percent of all registered voters thought he would do a better job of fighting the war on terrorism than would Kerry, while 36 percent preferred Kerry. In polling from August 9 through 29, the night before the convention began, 50 percent said Bush would do better and 39 percent said Kerry.
Bush also went from a 49 to 42 percent advantage when asked who would be a better commander-in-chief of the military to a 52 to 39 percent edge.
