POLL-Kerry Holds Lead But Race May Be Tightening

[Guaranteed]

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

MANCHESTER, N.H. (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry holds a nine-point lead over Howard Dean in New Hampshire but the race appears to be tightening, according to a Reuters/MSNBC/Zogby poll released on Saturday.

Kerry led Dean 31 percent to 22 percent in the latest three-day tracking poll, but the last day of polling showed Kerry with a much smaller margin over Dean while John Edwards and Joseph Lieberman both gained ground on the leaders.

"Kerry's lead is now nine points over three days, however he led only by 26 percent-22 percent over Dean in Friday polling alone, while Edwards and Lieberman each hit 10 percent," pollster John Zogby said.

"Dean's showing on Friday may suggest that he has bottomed out and may in fact be starting to increase," Zogby said. "Another day like this and Dean may be in striking distance again."

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http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4199651
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This thing could very well be turning around. :)

You can also see the detailed poll at www.zogby.com . Enjoy!

[joeybee12]

1. I said it before--the media overplay of the Dean Scream helped Howard

It was like beating a dead horse--people soon turned away from it and didn't pay attention, but it gave them a reason to focus back on Dean again, and look at his policies, not at what the media was saying.

I tell you, if he makes a close second, I bet he borrows the phrase, "The Comeback Kid!"

[Guaranteed]

3. Close second looks very possible right now.

He has three days, too. If he moves upward...unbelievably, he could even overtake Kerry.

Also notice that Lieberman and Edwards are moving up...probably taking votes from Kerry.

[wtmusic]

4. No way

The Dean Scream hurt his chances, although in the final analysis, probably not much. And the only one to blame is Howard himself. That Howard has to learn the hard way that a certain demeanor is expected of a president, well...

That the bounce didn't last long at all is proof it will be relatively unimportant. This isn't the first time HD has been underestimated.

[joeybee12]

7. Well, the media focus on Dean has been the scream, if he hadn't

done it, then all they'd be saying is that he's losing ground fast and won't win--they would have labeled him a loser, rather than a screamer, and that would have stuck more.

[Abigail147]

22. Isn't it ironic

that Chris Matthews (spraying spittle in yet another tirade) can sit there with Peggy Noonan( who rhapsodizes about Reagan's shoes and dolphins) along with proselytizing Howard the Duck Fineman can presume to sit in judgment of Howard Dean's innocuous cheer-leading and pronounce him "too angry" and the always Republican accusation "mentally unfit". Oh my god. Shades of John McCain.

[seventhson]

15. Pretzels

Presidential?


He's just human which is what we need.

[lebkuchen]

25. I sent an e-mail to CNNI complaining about their replaying that

ad infinitum. The US has shit for media.

I hope there is a backlash at the media, to Dean's and Clark's (Jennings--more bullshit) benefit.

[mumon]

31. Yeah- I was out of the country...

and that was the ONLY thing they had on CNN.

Dean might have hit on something: getting the media to over-react helps him, because it's plain as day now the incredible bias CNN and the rest of the media has.

I look at it this way: the guy was behavin' like a friggin' human being - not a robot or a Ken doll with his strings being pulled by a DICK Cheney.

Morever, I'm sure if the Bush administration were brought to account for its actions in a court of law, we'd hear alot worse.

[osaMABUSh]

2. What happened to Clark? I thought this was his chance for 2nd

I still think Clark is our best chance for ABB. He is supposed to be a great debater but he hasn't handled himself as well as I expected in the debates and stumps.

If he finishes 2nd or 3rd he may have some MO for the South. Let's hope so...

[TomNickell]

20. Clark is the alternative to Kerry...

While Kerry looked dead, Clark did well. Now that Kerry looks viable, a lot of Clark's support went to him.

We'll see how this works in other states.

BTW, I'm skeptical of any poll that shows Liebermann doing better.

[Emillereid]

24. In the last debate I thought Clark did well given the

questions he was asked. My first choice is Dean, but I thought the questions that Clark received were meant to undermine his candidacy.

[Democrats unite]

5. Dean is going to give Kerry a run for his money...

& I hope Dean Pulverizes him (no pun intended).

[Guaranteed]

8. Well, you know it sure would help us if your man could siphon off

some military votes from Old Johnny-Boy....

[Democrats unite]

10. I think he is doing pretty good in that department.

eom

[ozone_man]

16. We have to careful about how Dean "pulverizes" Kerry

lest the media blow that out of proportion and makes it into an anger thing. ;-) I think of the Jon Stewart/Steve Colbert skit on the Daily Show.

Seriously, I think Dean has a chance to catch Kerry in NH.

[Abigail147]

21. Press has become pathological

in their need to push Dean down and push Kerry/Edwards forward. They have managed to convince people that Iowa, who likes them nice and bland, is representative of the entire country. This is bull shit. What is surprising is their willing accomplices in the Democratic party. Howard Dean is their only means of redemption if they are to become an alive and viable alternative once again rather than being the same-old same-old losers.

[cthrumatrix]

6. his support is beyond media "hype and daggers" -- only way to beat bush

[Polemonium]

33. Yep it's something new to the Democratic Party,

A solid base that ignores the spin, and continues to talk to friends and neighbors. We can't be controlled; how frusterating for all those who just want to continue to manipulate us while pointing out schools of Red Herrings in the distance. The only way to beat George Bush is if we do it together. Dean is the only one who has given us a voice.

[are_we_united_yet]

9. Listened to morning edition

And they harped on the scream of Dean.

Wow! Such insightful and meaningful journalism.

Friggin media whore.

[Guaranteed]

11. The harping...it's just helping!

I invite the media whores to harp. PLEASE harp, you scummy little bastards! ;) Hee hee!! It just pisses off the voters and makes them want to vote for Dean...vote for change.

[are_we_united_yet]

23. I hope you are right.

The amount of negative press Dean got on this was sickening!

But I hope you are right. I hope it just strengthens the resolve of those who appreciate Dean's courage and honor to stand up to the butt munches of the * admin.

And Rove, you still suck.

[kath]

27. Yep, NPR is in the tank for the GOP along with the rest of 'em. The notion

of "liberal NPR" is a total myth at this point.

[llmart]

12. Regarding the media frenzy over Dean's speech.....

You have to ask yourself - where was all the media coverage of the idiot-in-chief pumping his fist and acting like a cheerleader at the start of the Iraq debacle? Where was the 24/7 coverage of him saying "F... Saddam"? Where were they in 2000 when he called a NY Times reporter a "world class a..hole"? That's presidential behavior? Democrats, including people here at DU, can sometimes be our own worst enemy. They pick up on the media's constant harping on this and start jumping ship, saying "Oh, he's not presidential" while not seeing it for what it is - the rightwing media whores trying to label our candidates.

All of our candidates (except Lieberman) are excellent choices and we should NOT be lemmings who just fall into the media's trap.

[cjk]

13. Amen

nt

[Born Free]

14. All of our candidates (except Lieberman) are excellent choices and we shou

"All of our candidates (except Lieberman) are excellent choices and we should NOT be lemmings who just fall into the media's trap."

You are correct, democrats must learn to lead rather than follow, democrats must learn to make the rules rather than trying to adapt to all the new rules the right wing elite media dictate. There is no shame in being enthusiastic about saving America - the right wing also showed this kind of enthusiasm, but it was directed at Clintons cock. Lets not give in like we did in 2000, never give up. Dean was right and we need to stand with him rather than hiding under the table.

[PassingFair]

29. Don't forget his brief fling with Pooty-Poot

Remember, he looked into his eyes, and saw his soul...ooooohhhhh sends shivers of desire down my spine.

[auburnblu]

17. Wow, that's a turnaround

Dean seems to be catching up, maybe the Prime-Time/David Letterman appearances helped.

[0007]

18. I hope the trend is turning

[joefree1]

19. A big neo-rebel yell for Howard

A come back would be so sweet!

[goforit]

30. Paul Revere sounds the alarms through New England once again!!!

The red coats are here!!!

Wake up America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mitchum]

26. A big neo-rebel yell for a neo-rebel

See, that was positive

[llmart]

28. That's the spirit!

I am a Dean supporter, but I also will support whoever is the Democratic nominee. It's just that it is always difficult to be the person who is willing to put himself/herself on the line to stand for principles. Dean was the first to say that this was wrong and Kerry was timid. He wouldn't put himself on the line. Now all the candidates are turning to the internet to raise money and recognizing that there are millions of Democrats who are terribly unhappy with the status quo. Dean's first memorable line was about "taking back the Democratic party from the Democrats" (unsure if the quote is exact).

Along the same line, it would've been noble of both Kerry and Edwards to be back in DC for the vote on the overtime/spending bill even though it may not have changed anything. They would've shown that they care about it deeply enough to go back to DC just for the vote. We have to remember all the people that felt disenfranchised enough by the status quo of the Democratic party to vote for Nader in 2000 or who didn't vote at all because they saw very little difference in the parties.

[monchie]

32. Dean isn't my candidate...

but IMHO the media brainwashing attempt over that speech is absolutely and thorougly disgusting.

And if Shrub had done the same exact thing under the same exact circumstances, the presstitutes of the so-called "liberal media" would've spun it as a "fascinating glimpse of the inner soul of our beloved warrior king." (Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating that a little, but not by much.) Chris Matthews and Howie Fineman would've been waxing poetic tributes to Shrub's display of the ultimate core of his manliness, contrasting it against the wimpiness of all those feminized Democratic candidates.

These phony-baloney media feeding frenzies are exactly the reason I haven't watched cable "news" since Election 2000 (with the sole exception of the week following 9-11). And they're why I quit reading newspapers (with the exception of the Sunday NY Times, which I get for the ads) after decades of reading 2-4 newspapers a day. These frenzies are nothing but attempts to brainwash the American public into supporting Republicans.

Even though I support Clark, I hope Dean either wins or comes in a close second in NH. (And I'm hoping Clark comes in a very close second behind Dean or a very close third behind Dean and Kerry.) Such a result would be a slap in the face for the right-wing media (Faux, NY Post, Moonie Times, etc.) and for the presstitutes of the so-called "liberal media."