Gallup poll internals - Nothing but bad news for Kerry

There’s a single bright spot for John Kerry in the latest USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll numbers: Bush’s lead among likely voters slimmed from 13% to 8% (52%-44%) since the last time the poll was taken. However, the gap among registered voters widened from 8% to 13% (54%-41%) so go figure.

On the internals and issues, President Bush continues to hold a wide lead, one that Kerry has done nothing to narrow over the past two weeks.

For example:

- President Bush holds a 10% advantage among voters who say they are “certain” to vote for their preferred candidate (47%-37%).

- President Bush’s overall job approval rating is up to 54% - well above the 50% threshold believed required for an incumbent to win re-election.

- For the first time since 2002, Bush has a net approval rating on the economy (49%-48%).

- Almost-equal proportions of Americans approve and disapprove of the “situation in Iraq” (48%-49%), but when asked who would better handle Iraq, voters trust Bush by a margin of 14% (55%-41%).

- Likely voters chose “terrorism” as the most important issue to guide their votes this November; these voters trust President Bush on terrorism by a 27% margin (61%-34%).

- More Americans believe that John Kerry’s policies would move America in the wrong direction (44% “right” – 49% “wrong”); for President Bush, it’s 54% “right” and 44% “wrong.”

And how’s this for a final insult: asked who would better handle “relations with other countries,” President Bush leads Kerry by 52%-44%.

Looking good, but let's keep working through November 2nd.

[Cross-posted on Blogs for Bush]