Poll: Bush vulnerable, but Kerry not defined

? President Bush appears vulnerable on several fronts, including support for whether he deserves re-election and worries about the country’s direction, but Democratic rival John Kerry has been unable to capitalize on those weaknesses, a bipartisan poll suggests.

The result six months before the Nov. 2 presidential election is a tight race between a vulnerable incumbent and a challenger who has not yet defined himself, according to the Battleground 2004 poll released Wednesday. The survey was conducted by Republican pollster Ed Goeas and Democratic pollster Celinda Lake and sponsored by George Washington University.

Bush and Kerry were virtually tied in the survey, with Kerry at 49 percent support and Bush at 48 percent. When the pollsters asked an open-ended question on who voters supported for president, Bush had a slight lead.

When people were asked who they support but given no choices, 15 percent said they were undecided. That’s the same level of undecided voters on that question right before the 2000 election, Goeas said.

“We are starting this campaign right where we finished the last campaign,” said Goeas.

The poll found Bush retains an advantage on personal qualities like strong leadership, and on such issues as his handling of the campaign against terrorism and the war in Iraq. Kerry holds a slight edge on such qualities as compassion, and leads Bush on handling the economy and health care.

But on the intensity of those feelings, Bush has the advantage, with 38 percent saying they feel strongly for Bush and 26 percent saying the same about Kerry.

That intensity of feeling helps Bush stay close to Kerry despite mixed feelings about his re-election and Kerry’s advantage on the economy, health care and Social Security.

“With advantages like this, we should be way ahead,” Lake said. “How do we translate Kerry’s issue advantages into a lead against Bush?”

The poll was taken before the recent spike in violence in Iraq.

GOP pollster Goeas said it was important for Bush’s re-election campaign to define Kerry and turn his softer supporters into opponents. In some other polls, as many as four in 10 people say they don’t know enough about Kerry to decide how they feel about him.

The poll suggested Bush supporters feel more intensity in their backing for the president so Democrats will be under pressure make sure Kerry supporters go to the polls.

The poll of 1,000 likely voters was taken from March 28-31 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.