OpinionJournal 's John Fund assesses the strengths of the recently ended DNC:
But that the [moderate] rhetoric was not in accord with the reality of the party became clear when a New York Times/CBS survey of about a quarter of the convention's 4,322 delegates was released. John Kerry may have the most liberal voting record of any senator according to National Journal magazine but he is to the right of the delegates who nominated him. Nine out of 10 delegates polled totally oppose the Iraq war, three-fourths support abortion with no restrictions whatsoever. Only 4% want tax cuts and 95% say that gay marriage should be legally recognized.
That makes the party's accomplishment in producing a platform that was significantly more moderate than its 2000 version all the more remarkable. Antiwar activists dropped demands for U.S. troops to leave Iraq at a time certain. The platform handles divisive issues by simply ignoring them. It does not mention partial-birth abortion, gay marriage, capital punishment, Alaska oil drilling or the Kyoto global warming treaty. International trade issues are also swept under the rug.
He concludes:
The Boston "makeover" has also apparently not had the initial desired effect of changing popular perceptions about John Kerry. A brand-new USA Today/CNN poll conducted by Gallup after the Boston convention found that the Bush-Cheney ticket now has a 50% to 46% lead over their Democratic rivals in polling that ended on Sunday. The lack of a post-convention "bounce" demonstrates how unusually polarized the electorate has become. Nearly nine of 10 voters say their minds are made up and won't change. "The convention, typically a kicking-off point for a party, is now merely a reaffirmation" of where voters stand, said David Moore, senior editor of the Gallop Poll. Since World War II, every challenger who has unseated a president has led after his convention. For all his efforts, Mr. Kerry hasn't been able to erase doubts that he is terminally indecisive on key issues but will always retreat to a liberal default position when pressed.
His campaign is off to a decent start, but he will have to tackle those doubts himself, especially in the debates with President Bush. No amount of convention flag-waving or careful repetition of muscular rhetoric on terrorism will do that for him.
[Note: The USA Today/CNN Poll is here.]
A separate Newsweek poll gives the Kerry-Edwards ticket a 4-point bounce, and otherwise favorable gains on key issues. Still, according to Newsweek:
Kerry’s four-point “bounce” is the smallest in the history of the NEWSWEEK poll. There are several factors that may have contributed to the limited surge, including the timing of the poll. On Thursday, Kerry had just a two-point lead over Bush (47 percent to 45 percent), suggesting that his Friday night speech had a significant impact. Additionally, Kerry’s decision to announce his vice-presidential choice of John Edwards three weeks before the convention may have blunted the gathering’s impact. And limited coverage by the three major networks also may have hurt Kerry.Posted by Clifton at August 2, 2004 09:02 AM | TrackBack