Bush Loses Another Franchise

Kerry Leads Bush in Exudation of Optimism

Democrat John F. Kerry has new reason to be cheerful. Kerry leads President Bush on the question of who conveys more optimism, according to a new poll.

The Republican incumbent accused Kerry of being pessimistic. That in turn prompted the Democratic challenger to accuse Bush of being pessimistic and to declare in his nomination acceptance speech that "we are the optimists."

All these professions of hopefulness have evidently paid off for Kerry. The National Annenberg Election Survey run by the University of Pennsylvania showed last week that 42 percent of the independent voters prized by both candidates think Kerry is more optimistic, while 30 percent think Bush is. The same group's poll taken before the Democratic convention had Bush leading the optimism derby with independents by 41 to 34 percent.