Why didn Kerry get a bigger bounce in public opinion polls after the Democratic National Convention?
I think the big news there is that there aren’t as many undecideds. This is a campaign that has historically started much earlier than campaigns in the past. And this is one where most people have already made up their minds. Q: What about the so-called lack of news coverage? A: The lack of coverage I don’t think rings true because the [TV networks] have been shortening the amount of convention coverage for years. Q: And what about the criticism that maybe Kerry picked Edwards [his running mate] too early? A: I don’t think that has much to do with it, either. I think that they strategically decided to announce the Edwards selection when they did to try to lengthen the coverage. So I don’t think that should have minimized the bounce. I think that should have maximized the bounce. Professor John Bruce, University of Mississippi, Oxford Q: Why didn’t Kerry get a bigger bounce after the Democratic National Convention? A: The bounce historically has come from excitement and coverage. Excite
