The first salvos of Bush and Kerry television advertisements appears to have produced few important changes in public attitudes toward the two candidates, the University of Pennsylvania’s National Annenberg Election Survey shows.
A comparison of national public attitudes toward the two candidates in the first half of March with those in the second half, shows that 40 percent had a favorable view of Senator John F. Kerry in the first half of the month, while 24 percent had an unfavorable view. In the second half of the month, 39 percent had a favorable opinion and 28 percent an unfavorable view. The four-point increase in unfavorable opinions was statistically significant, but not the one-point decrease in favorable opinions.
