This is from Investor's Business Daily, an inferior version of the Wall Street Journal. Take from it what you will:
President Bush's prospects for re-election and optimism about Iraq both edged up last week as the nation mourned the death of Ronald Reagan, according to the latest IBD/TIPP poll.
In a three-way race, Bush leads Kerry 43% to 40%, while independent Ralph Nader gets 5%. In a two-way race, Bush edges Kerry 44% to 43%. The poll was taken June 8-13.
In IBD/TIPP polling the week before, Bush had a two-point advantage in a two-way race and a one-point head-to-head lead.
To track the war's impact on U.S. public opinion and the November election, IBD/TIPP has developed a new measure -- the Iraq Optimism Index.
The index ranges from 0 to 100 and has two components. The Iraq Outlook Component gauges how Americans feel about the Iraq front in the next six months. The Policy Satisfaction component measures the administration's handling of Iraq.
A score below 50 signals pessimism; above signals optimism. A score of 50 is neutral.
Reagan's Halo Effect
In the past week, the Iraq Optimism Index advanced 2.2 points to 52.3, a 4% increase from the week before. The Iraq outlook component improved to 56.3 from 53.3. The policy satisfaction component gained 1.5 points to 48.4 from 46.9.
More:
http://biz.yahoo.com/ibd/040614/issues_1.html