Polls reaffirm Kerry bounce

There have been a couple of new polls since we last spoke. First the latest Gallup poll shows the race tied at 49. Kerry also showed gains on his ability to handle Iraq and the war on terror. Kerry comes out now as the man favored to win the second debate, which has me a little nervous to say the least. Despite all the "Bush is an idiot" rhetoric that gets thrown about, the guy clearly could not have gotten where he is today without knowing something, even if it is who to hire to help his campaign. The Bush we saw in the first debate will be nowhere in sight for the second one. And while I do not doubt Kerry's debate ability, I know this is still about public perception more than anything. The more Kerry has to live up to, the further he has to fall.

Anyhow, the latest Zogby poll also shows a Kerry bounce, placing him a point behind Bush, 46-45. Of note, 2% of undecideds favor Kerry, and 1% favor Bush, making this essentially a tie at 47. Only 46% of respondents said that Bush deserves to be reelected. Also of interest:

Only 13 percent of undecided voters feel that the president deserves re-election (his lowest yet) while 37 percent feel it is time for someone new.

This is all great news for Kerry, but he needs to remain strong in the next two debates. As Kerry himself said, we have to win every day until the election.