The Boston Globe has
more bad news for native son John Kerry in its latest (and post Gore endorsement) New Hampshire poll. MoE +/- 5%. (October results in parenthesis.)
Dean 42 (37)
Kerry 19 (24)
Clark 13 (8)
Edwards 7 (9)
Lieberman 5 (5)
Gephardt 3 (7)
Other/Undecided 11 (10)
Last week I said Edwards would make a game of it in NH. I've changed my mind. This race is Dean/Clark to the end. And given the performance of some of the other candidates of late, I can't be more relieved.
There's no doubt in my mind we'd be well served by either Dean or Clark. Dean's probably gonna win it, but if Clark pulls off the improbable we'll all be in pretty good shape.
As for Kerry, screw him. His new slash-and-burn tactics are not only harmful to the party, but they're not helping his popularity in the least:
Kerry aides issue a "Daily Dean Report" chronicling the front-runner's alleged flaws, and the senator himself has taken aim at Dean's perceived strength, accusing him of being misleading and inconsistent in his views. Last week, Kerry even began challenging Dean on his signature issue -- opposition to the war in Iraq -- saying that Dean had actually favored an amendment offered before the war began that would have allowed Bush to use military force [...]
Kerry's popularity has dropped, with 53 percent saying they think of him favorably -- compared with 65 percent who felt that way in a similar poll in October. Another 20 percent now say they view Kerry unfavorably, a rise since the last poll, when 12 percent viewed him in a negative light [...]
"As sad as it is to say, the more Kerry attacks Dean, the more Clark is going to benefit," Chervinsky said. "Dean has this sort of teflon thing going on, as much as they want to hurt him."
Kerry is going down, and he doesn't give a damn who he takes down with him.