Polls (and more Dean) 

Polls (and more Dean)

I saw a poll on CNN TV yesterday (which I can't find online)that had Lieberman leading a national poll of Democrats and Gephardt second. Dean was way down at 6 percent, below even Al Sharpton's 7 percent. Bush easily defeated an unnamed Democratic nominee.

I don't know how much stock to put in these national polls at this stage, especially with so many undecided voters. Maybe looking at numbers in Iowa and New Hampshire is more significant because winning there could generate momentum for a candidate that could lead to big changes in media attention and the perception of the candidate's chances, which in turn may turn around poll numbers. The Boston Globe reports on a new poll from New Hampshire, which gives Kerry a 9 point lead over Dean.

Since my last post on Dean was obscenely long, I'll add a link here to Joe Klein's Time article on the candidate. I find Klein's assertion Dean knows little about issues and is opportunistic on choosing stances interesting (judge for yourself here), as well as the characterization of his supporters and his chances at the nomination (how can Klein list Leiberman, who leads national polls, in the middle tier of Democartic candidates?).

Also interesting, continuing on the theme of Dean backlash, is the allegation in today's Boston Globe that the MoveOn.org primary is unfairly slanted toward Dean. The charge is based on someone from MoveOn working as a consultant for Dean and the suspicious timing of the MoveOn primary right after Dean makes his formal announcement. I will check to see if MoveOn.org has any response to this allegation. By the way, don't forget to vote in the MoveOn primary (you had to register by midnight last night to be eligible, though all members are eligible automatically). Another interesting issue raised by the Globe article is whether Republicans might try to influence the outcome.