A number of posters have noted that polling Bush against a “Generic Democrat”, as opposed to a real person, is misleading. Several other recent poll results are discussed in this article, including:
In a 3 way race, Bush vs. Gore vs. McCain, Bush 44%, Gore 28% McCain 20%. Another poll, however, showed Bush and Gore tied in the same 3 way race. Finally, for purposes of comparison, the same poll that had Bush ahead in the 3 way race put him up 50% to 38% against Al Gore head to head, showing that McCain drew 6 points from Bush but 10 points from Gore.
Well, David, it can be argued that there WERE a lot more Nader supporters than actually voted for Nader (I don’t have any statistics to support that… if someone does - whether for or against that notion - it be much appreciated). Sure, the tiny percentage of Nader voters “stole” the election from Gore, but if a significant number didn’t change their vote (from Nader to Gore), it can be argued that Gore would have REALLY REALLY lost… (instead of just sorta-kinda lost :D).