In The Hotline's survey of state polls, President Bush leads in 24 states worth 211 electoral votes and John Kerry leads in 23 states worth 285 electoral votes (270 needed to win).(includes other news)(News Briefs)(Brief Article)

* In The Hotline's survey of state polls, President Bush leads in 24 states worth 211 electoral votes and John Kerry leads in 23 states worth 285 electoral votes (270 needed to win).... Washington Post poll: Bush-Cheney 46 percent, Kerry-Edwards 46 percent, Nader-Camejo 4 percent.... Bush: "Although we have not found stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, we were right to go into Iraq. We removed a declared enemy of America, who had the capability of producing weapons of mass murder, and could have passed that capability to terrorists bent on acquiring them. In the world after September the 11th, that was a risk we could not afford to take." ... Acting CIA director John McLaughlin: "This is about as serious a threat environment as I have seen since 9/11." ... Bush: "My opponent said he is proud that he and his running mate voted ...