I hadn't seen anyone mention this yet, so here it is:
Results at odds with other recent polls
The NBC/Journal poll found Bush and Kerry in a dead heat eight months before the general election. Bush was favored by 47 percent of respondents, while 45 percent backed Kerry, a difference that was within the poll's reported margin of sampling error of 3.1 percentage points.
It was difficult to gauge the importance of the result, which was notably at odds with those of other polls in the past week, which have found Kerry with a statistically significant lead in a head-to-head matchup. Kerry led Bush by 9 points in the latest Washington Post/ABC News survey and by 8 points in the latest USA Today/CNN poll.
The NBC/Journal question also did not account for independent Ralph Nader, even though he had announced his intention to run almost three weeks previously. Other polls have indicated that Nader could draw enough support -- as high as 6 percent in some surveys -- to swing the election either way, with most of his strength being drained from Kerry.
However the story also goes on to point out how badly Bush polls on economic issues.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4499877/