Political Roundup

Kerry closing in on Lieberman for my least favorite Dem:

Look for a decision this week from Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on whether he will reject public campaign financing now that rival Howard Dean has decided to turn aside taxpayer money and the spending limits that come with it.

"We're going to make our decision over the course of the next day or so," Kerry told CBS' "Face the Nation." The Massachusetts senator railed against Dean's announcement on Saturday, saying that the former Vermont governor "has taken a very different road than Democrats have stood for as a matter of principle."
...
Throughout the campaign, Kerry said, he has been consistent, making clear that if Dean opted out, he would be prepared to do the same. "Now, whether I will or not, I'll make that decision. But I'm prepared to."

File under: can't have your cake and eat it too. Subheading: waaah, I'm losing!

And in Newsweek, they run with the hed "Newsweek Poll: Boom Boosts Bush". Ah, so a quarter of strong growth after so long in the doldrums is a "boom" now? Well, this is why Dean needs to opt out of matching funds: Bush gets free rah-rah coverage that's worth way more than $45M.

Anyway, some interesting numbers:

Bush's lead against the five leading Democratic contenders-Howard Dean, Wesley Clark, John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, and Richard Gephardt-has shrunk to a low of 4 points, vs. 6 points a month ago. Dean continues to poll best against Bush, with 45 percent of respondents saying they would vote for him, compared to 49 percent for Bush. Last month, 43 percent would have voted for Dean and 49 percent Bush.
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Bush's overall approval rating is holding steady at about 52 percent, though that’s down considerably from its peak of 88 percent in the weeks following the September 11 attacks.

File under: Hosanna. Cross-reference: Howard Dean, Superstar.

ntodd  ¶ 2:09 PM