[img]https://www.sermonindex.net/images/forum/2004/may/featured_news.gif[/img]WASHINGTON President Bush has surged to a 13-point lead over Sen. John Kerry among likely voters, a new Gallup Poll shows. The 55%-42% match-up is the first statistically significant edge either candidate has held this year.Among registered voters, Bush is ahead 52%-44%.The boost Bush received from the Republican convention has increased rather than dissipated, reshaping a race that for months has been nearly tied. Kerry is facing warnings from Democrats that his campaign is seriously off-track.With 46 days until the election, analysts say the proposed presidential debates offer Kerry his best chance to change the race."It doesn't look like the new consultants and strategies of attacks are the right ones" for Kerry, says Matthew Dowd, chief strategist for the Bush campaign. Kerry in recent weeks added veterans of the Clinton White House to his team and began criticizing Bush more sharply on Iraq and other issues.Dowd says Kerry at this point would "have to defy history" to defeat a sitting president.
_________________SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
Dowd says Kerry at this point would "have to defy history" to defeat a sitting president.