Kerry's slipping, new polls say

WASHINGTON — Democrat John Kerry has lost ground with voters in their perceptions of his honesty, leadership skills and Vietnam experience during the heated debate over his war record as a swiftboat commander, a poll found.

Ads paid for by a group called the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have questioned Kerry's Vietnam service and say he lied about his actions while piloting a swiftboat on a Vietnam river in the late 1960s. The Kerry campaign has rebutted the claims with Navy documents and other veteran accounts, and Kerry has accused President Bush of being behind the ads paid for by an independent group. Bush has denied that charge.

A month ago, Kerry and President Bush were tied on the question of who has the honesty and integrity to serve as president. Bush now has an advantage on that question, 46 percent to 39 percent, according to a Los Angeles Times poll released Thursday.

The number of people who feel that in his Vietnam combat missions, Kerry demonstrated qualities America needs in a president has dropped from 58 percent in June to 48 percent now, according to the Times poll.

The poll found Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney with a slight lead, backed by 47 percent to 44 percent for Kerry and running mate John Edwards and 3 percent for independents Ralph Nader and Peter Camejo. The head-to-head matchup has shown very little change with Bush and Kerry tied in July.

Other polls released Thursday also found the race very close.

The Bush-Cheney ticket was at 48 percent, Kerry-Edwards at 46 percent and Nader-Camejo at 4 percent in a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll.

A Battleground Poll, sponsored by George Washington University, found Kerry-Edwards backed by 48 percent, Bush-Cheney backed by 47 percent and Nader-Camejo backed by 3 percent.

Pre-convention polls by Fox News/Opinion Dynamics and NBC News-Wall Street Journal also found the race tied.

While the debate over Kerry's Vietnam record appears to have eroded some of his gains on character qualities when compared with Bush, several polls show the race remains very close.

Voters are so deadlocked on their choice for president that the campaigns will need to focus on keeping the intensity of support high and turning them out on Election Day, according to pollsters Ed Goeas, a Republican, and Celinda Lake, a Democrat, who conducted the Battleground survey. That poll found Kerry has solidified support among key groups, like blacks and union voters.

Here are details on the polls' methods:

—The bipartisan Battleground poll of 1,000 likely voters was conducted Aug. 15-17 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

—The Los Angeles Times poll of 1,352 registered voters was conducted Aug. 21-24 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

—The CNN-USA Today poll 709 likely voters was taken Aug. 23-25 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.