Poll: No boost for Kerry after convention
By Susan Page, USA TODAY


WASHINGTON - The Democratic National Convention boosted voters' perceptions
of John Kerry's leadership on critical issues, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll
finds. But it failed to give him the expected bump in the head-to-head race
against President Bush.
In the survey, taken Friday and Saturday, the Democratic ticket of Kerry and
John Edwards trailed the Republican ticket of Bush and Dick Cheney 50% to
46% among likely voters, with independent candidate Ralph Nader at 2%.

Before the convention, the two were essentially tied, with Kerry at 47%,
Bush at 46%.

The change in support was within the poll's margin of error of +/- 4
percentage points in the sample of 763 likely voters. But it was nonetheless
a stunning result, the first time in the Gallup Poll since the 1972
Democratic convention that a candidate seemed to lose ground at his
convention.

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No wonder Kerry was running neck and neck with Bush for the past 3 months.
Before the convention, nobody knew who he was. Now that they know, he's
doomed. He was more attractive as an "anybody but Bush" candidate.