New Poll: Americans Across Political Spectrum Want Change; Mother Jones Magazine Poll Shows 62 Percent Feel America Is Headed in Wrong Direction.

Byline: Mother Jones Magazine

SAN FRANCISCO, June 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- A new poll released today on Mother Jones magazine's website (http://www.motherjones.com/2004poll) shows that while Sen. John Kerry leads President George Bush by 3 percentage points among registered voters, an overwhelming majority of Americans across the political spectrum are ready for a major change in the country's direction.

"With only five months to go before the presidential election, the American public has concluded that something is going very wrong with America," said Stanley Greenberg, whose firm conducted the poll for Mother Jones. "The candidate who gives voice to what has gone wrong and presents his own vision for change is in a position to ignite a much bigger explosion and break the electoral deadlock."

In the poll of 1,007 registered voters conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, 62 percent of Americans indicated that they believe the United States is on the wrong track. Only 27 percent of those polled feel strongly about continuing in President Bush's direction, while 57 percent want to go in a significantly different direction. Even larger majorities believe the country is worse off today than it was three years ago on issues including the economy, job security, education, health care, moral values, national security and our reputation in the global community.

The poll points to a new majority for change in the making: 80 percent of those who described themselves as "liberals" and 68 percent of "moderates" said they thought the country needed a major change in direction. Even one out of three self-described "conservatives" feels that it's time for a new direction, according to the poll. According to Greenberg, the poll results are all the more striking given that 50 percent of those contacted said that they had voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 election, and that most described their political outlook as "moderate" (40 percent) or "conservative" (37 percent).

So far in the campaign, however, neither candidate has tapped into this emerging majority. "The voters' call for change can't be good news for President Bush," according to Jay Harris, publisher of Mother Jones, "but John Kerry still has a lot of work to do to convince potential supporters he's the man for the job."

The poll also sheds new light on Americans' opinions towards the war in Iraq. A majority of those polled feel that the Iraqi people are actually worse off today than they were three years ago. And the war in Iraq is the number one concern on voters' minds.