"Is Your Vote More in Support of Kerry or Against Bush?"

[BurtWorm]

Poll question: "Is Your Vote More in Support of Kerry or Against Bush?"

Asked of Kerry Supporters in the latest ABC/Washington Post Poll:

http://tinyurl.com/2swxk

[rucky]

1. Check out the breakdowns by race:

White Black All
For Kerry 35% 45% 38%
Against Bush 64% 55% 61%


that's the only stat that surprised me.

2. this is dangerous

It needs to be kept in mind that voting against someone is softer support than voting for someone.

I hope to see some improvement on this as the campaign commences or else I'll be worried.

[rucky]

5. Incumbency races are always like this

turnout will depend on how much people like/dislike the incumbent and how non-objectionable the other guy is.

their vote counts the same for whatever reason. It's all about turnout, and judging from the primaries, we have no reason to worry about that part of it. And as long as Kerry keeps walking the line & not saying anything that mainstream GOP-ers couldn't "live with" - that will help supress turnout on the other side.

6. hadn't thought of that

[West Coast Democrat]

10. I tend to think voting against someone can actually be stronger support

This means that Democrats are more strongly united to defeat Bush* no matter whom they voted for in the primaries.

[Marius]

3. My support is more for against Bush...

than for Kerry.

[In Truth We Trust]

4. Doesn't really matter as long as it is legitimatelty COUNTED

[Larkspur]

7. Against Bush

Kerry is part of the stagnent status quo in the Dem Party but getting rid of Bush is step #1.

Getting rid of Dems, like Kerry, is step #2.

[NoPasaran]

8. I've been ABB for ages

And it looks like Kerry is Mister A.

[VOX]

9. Against *, but it could morph into support of Kerry...

In the coming months, if he really takes it to *, keeps him on the defensive, and has an inspired choice for a VP candidate, my against-* sentiment could be channeled more into a feeling of supporting Kerry.

At issue here is the loathing of *. It is so intense that it tends to overshadow all else. I don't see how this could change.

[ThomWV]

11. I Am For Clark - But I Will Vote For Kerry

And if he puts Clark on the ticket I will actively campaign for them both. With anyone else on the ticket I'll show up at the polls and check the Democrat's block, but the only enthusiam I'll have is in being against Bu$h.

[OldGreyHippie]

13. I'll vote for Kerry - wish it were Clark

I agree totally, I think Clark would make major changes in US foreign policy, especially the Middle East which is a root cause of a lot of our problems. But yes, of course I'll vote for Kerry. I do suspect we'll see "Clark for President" bumper stickers in the future.

[quaker bill]

12. Against Bush

No two ways about it. I don't favor Kerry nearly as much as I oppose Bush.

[Jacobin]

14. Against bush*

Quite frankly, if a republican (not a neo-con fundie freak) were running against Kerry who had opposed the illegal invasion of Iraq, I would vote for him. :-) (yes, some things, like maiming and killing tens of thousands of innocent people, are more important than politics)

[union_maid]

15. This election is a referendum on Bush

That's what it always is when one of the candidates is the incumbent. Kerry totally understands this and that's why his campaign is focused on Bush's negatives more than his positives now that he's the presumptive nominee. If I had to answer that question I couldn't answer it accurately with those choices. The answer is that I'm ABB for the very good reason that at age 54, I've lived through more bad administrations than good ones but this is beyond imagination. I used to think that Nixon was evil, but now I miss him! There is no more important message that this election can deliver than that this nation will not stand for a radical, lying, incompetent and morally bereft administration such as this one. So, the priority is voting against Bush. However, I would have no problem supporting Senator Kerry against just about any Republican candidate on earth, and with enthusiasm, too. So, I think those results are not problematic, and probably more meaningless than otherwise.

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

16. My quick and easy mathematical breakdown:

My hatred of Bush > My fondness for Kerry
Vote against Bush = Vote for Kerry

and so on. A vote is a vote, whatever the motivation behind it.

I think if most of the electorate is anything like me, they simply haven't lived with the prospect of a John Kerry candidacy for long enough to have formulated iron-clad opinions about him one way or the other. Simply put, I don't know him yet, but I KNOW that I loathe George W. Bush, and I have been chomping at the bit to vote that motherfucker out of office since December 2000, so as far as I'm concerned, John Kerry would make as good a "ham sandwich" as anybody.

If I had been waiting for three years for Kerry to run for president, my vote might be more about him than about Bush, but the simple fact is I just don't know enough about him to have an opinion that is as strong as the one I have about Bush. To be perfectly honest, what I do know about Kerry so far does not make me particularly thrilled about his candidacy. However, that doesn't mean that I won't still vote for him. Bush has been a disaster in every respect and he needs to go, plain and simple.

I think that we'll be hearing a lot of this if we get the moderate Republicans that we'll need to win. The only reason they would come over to our side in the first place is because they have first made the conscious decision to vote against their own party. That is a decision I could never make. I've always voted Dem, so I don't even know what would have to happen for me to abandon the party and vote Republican, but let's just say it would have to be some unprecedented, extreme case that I can't even fathom, like if the Dem candidate announced on the night before the election that he was going to sign an executive order legalizing murder and pedophilia. Feeling like the Republican challenger was a swell guy just wouldn't cut it in my case. I would have to find the Dem in question beyond loathesome. I think if we get significant numbers of crossover voters, it would be for that exact reason. So cherish those "against" votes, people! We need 'em.

[BurtWorm]

17. That is extremely well put! "John Kerry = as good a ham sandwich as any!"

:D That's my feeling exactly!