Exit Polls Spot Vulnerabilities in Kerry's Show of Strength

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&ncid=703&e=5&u=/latimests/20040204/ts_latimes/exitpollsspotvulnerabilitiesinkerrysshowofstrength

WASHINGTON — John F. Kerry's near sweep of Tuesday's seven primaries and caucuses underscored his strength in the Democratic presidential race. But the results also identified possible chinks in his armor that could let a rival — probably John Edwards (news - web sites) — mount a drive to stop him.


On a night that saw onetime frontrunner Howard Dean (news - web sites) finish far behind in almost every contest, Kerry's victories in states as diverse as Delaware, Missouri and Arizona demonstrated again the breadth of his reach across the Democratic Party.


Exit polls in the three most seriously contested states — Arizona, Oklahoma and South Carolina — showed that the Massachusetts senator was benefiting from a growing conviction among Democratic voters that he was more electable and experienced than his rivals.


But the surveys also raised red flags for the leader. The polls showed that Kerry, who has been trying to shed an image as an aloof patrician, fared worse among voters who said their priority was a candidate who cared about people like them.

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[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. SO the article basically addresses the solution

choose Clark or Edwards as a running mate to keep those people and attract others.

I'm surprised nobody said "Skull and Bones" was the reason they favored Clark and Edwards over Kerry. :D

[K-W]

2. Its hard to find people that crazy.

Unless they accumulate on a political forum.

[papau]

3. who cared about people like them- Kerry does great - & Edwards does better

The Kerry does great part seems to be left out of the story.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

4. JK really has to work to convince people

People come away from the face to face meetings totally convinced of his authenticness. Obvioulsy it is impossible to rally all support this way. Right now Kerry is benefitting from positve press and seeming like a winner. I think his ultimate success lies in word of mouth testimonials from those who get to meet him at the townhalls and other more intimate meet-ups.

[SangamonTaylor]

5. His ability to connect to voters will be the #1 question if he's the nom.

Somehow George W has people convinced that he is a 'man of the people'

Go figure.