A Stronger Kerry Forces Bush to Make a Compelling Case
Ronald Brownstein
"I thought Kerry's speech was a very offensive-minded speech," said Fabrizio, the pollster for Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole in 1996. "They made it clear they were going to play on once-hallowed Republican ground — terrorism, national security and foreign affairs."
Kerry made his case effectively enough, Fabrizio predicted, that voters would feel more confident in him as a wartime leader. Indeed, a Newsweek poll released Saturday showed rising voter faith in Kerry's ability to handle an international crisis.
Another Republican pollster, Frank Luntz, saw similar gains after Kerry's speech with a focus group of 20 undecided Ohio voters. Some Democrats felt Luntz had stacked the group because 14 of the 20 participants had voted for Bush in 2000. But that only made the group's positive response to the speech more striking.
"I'm shocked that a Democrat would do as well as Kerry did on national security," Luntz said a few minutes after the speech. "This is a brand-new campaign. In certain ways, Bush is now the underdog."
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