FL-Nelson's seat a toss up

I think this is mixed news:

While voters approve of the job Nelson is doing by a 50-17 margin, respondents split 37-37 when asked if he should be re-elected, the poll conducted by Quinnipiac University showed.

"There's good news and bad news for Sen. Bill Nelson, whose biggest problem continues to be that one-third of Florida voters don't know much about him after four years in office," said Clay Richards, assistant director of the school's polling institute.

Nelson's support, though, crossed party lines, with 52 percent of Republicans approving his work compared to 49 percent of Democrats, the poll showed.

But voters now have that chance as Nelson is hard on the stump against the President's Social Security plan:

U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida denounced President George W. Bush's proposal to overhaul the Social Security system by allowing Americans to direct some of their earnings into private investment accounts.

During a town hall meeting in Brooksville Thursday, Nelson said Social Security worked well for the past 75 years and that the fundamentals should not be changed.

"I have an obligation to protect that system," Nelson said, adding that Social Security has lifted millions of senior citizens out of poverty during the past 50 years.

"I am not risking this program that has meant so much to so many people," he told the 50 residents who came to hear him speak on the topic.

And for those who doubt his opposition:

"This senator is going to fight not to cut Social Security benefits until the last dog dies," Nelson responded.