America’s military veterans, a distinctly Republican chunk of the electorate, think much more highly of George W. Bush than of John Kerry. But the Democratic convention improved veterans’ overall impression of Kerry, and about as many now view him favorably as think of him unfavorably, the University of Pennsylvania’s National Annenberg Election Survey shows.
Fifty-nine percent of 728 veterans registered to vote and interviewed from August 6 through 24 said they had a favorable opinion of Bush while 32 percent had an unfavorable view. By contrast, 42 percent viewed Kerry favorably and 44 percent unfavorably. The difference between Kerry’s favorable and unfavorable ratings was not statistically significant; the poll’s margin of sampling error was plus or minus four percentage points.
