Kerry Flip Flops--Passes Bush in Two Tracking Polls

After spending the last year defending Kerry from false charges of flip flopping, I was pleased to see Kerry flip flop not once, but twice today. Today's flip flops were not over Iraq (where he has been consistent) or any other issue, but in two tracking polls.

First, from Rasmussen Reports this morning:

On Monday, the Rasmussen Reports Presidential Tracking Poll shows Senator John Kerry with 48% of the vote and President George W. Bush with 46%. This is the first time Senator Kerry has held the lead since August 23. The 48.4% for Kerry is the Senator's highest total since August 17.

This afternoon the Washington Post results were out with Kerry taking the lead 49% to 48%.
Zogby had an unusually good day for Bush on Saturday, causing his tracking poll to show a three point lead for Bush. Zogby also had Bush leading Gore by three points at this point before the 2000 election, before Gore went on to win the popular vote.

Note that these are polls of likely voters, and tend to exclude newly registered voters, not considering those who failed to vote in 2000 to be likely voters. These newly registered voters favor Kerry by a large margin in all polls, and would tip the election to Kerry if they turn out to vote. The high degree of interest in this election, relatively high turn out for the Democratic primaries, and the degree of opposition to Bush's policies among many people are all signs pointing towards higher than ususal voter turn out.

For those who read the title and are looking for flip flops, check out this site:

President Bush: Flip-Flopper-In-Chief