Post-Debate?

On the left side of the ring - bam - we've got Senator Kerry, on the right side - zing - we've got President George Bush! Are you ready for the Dammage in Gammage (Gammage Auditorium of Arizona State, that is)!?

Well, you were ready, at least. And when the pollsters called, America, you answered!!! It just depends on who was polling you. I'm going to pretend all those snap polls right after the debate never happened (they're notoriously innacurate) and we're going to focus on the other, more reliable polls, taken today.

First off, lets get the MSNBC online poll out of the way. It's going overwhelmingly to Kerry, but one could argue that the sort of person answering polls online is more likely to be liberal than conservative.

Second, the ABC poll. This one shows the debate as a draw, with Kerry maintaining a lead of one percent over Bush. But lets look closely, people. Check out this from the link on ABC's site:

The audience for the third debate was a bit more Republican in its
allegiance: Among viewers, 38 percent identified themselves as Republicans, 30
percent as Democrats and 28 percent as independents. That makes the draw more of an accomplishment for Kerry.

Interesting...so what exactly would the numbers be like if the respondants were more evenly devided Democrat/Republican? Well, thanks to CBS news and Gallup, we know.

In this Gallup poll, Kerry comes out ahead. This is somewhat surprising, as I may be the only person who thought that Bush's performance in the third debate was his best yet. But at any rate, it looks like the moderates have made their decision - indeed, maybe of them may have decided who had won the third debate before it happened!

It seems that in this poll taken prior to the debate Kerry was already thought to be the candidate that would come out ahead. Interesting stuff, and worth keeping track of before you vote.

That is, if you get to vote, based on those fancy new votin' machines they got down in Florida...