Polls

It's a good thing there are elections (where there are). They enable you to look back on the opinion polls. Did I read that Bush was in trouble? I'm not sure, to be honest. I thought I did. But anyway, according to this report by Suzanne Goldenberg maybe he isn't (yet?):

George Bush emerged relatively unscathed from one of the worst months of his presidency yesterday, holding steady in opinion polls as Iraq experienced a wave of ambushes, kidnappings and bombs.

Two polls showed that the chaos in Iraq has so far produced little direct gain for the Democratic challenger, John Kerry, for what is shaping up to be an exceedingly close election next November.
.....
Despite Mr Kerry's years in the Senate and his status as a Vietnam war hero, 49% of respondents said Mr Bush was better equipped to deal with the national security problems, compared with 44% for the Democratic challenger.

A second poll in USA Today reached a similar conclusion.

"By two to one, voters say only Bush, not Kerry, would do a good job in handling terrorism," USA Today said. "By nearly as much, 40% to 26%, they say only Bush would do a good job in handling the situation in Iraq."

Analysts said it was impossible to ignore Mr Kerry's failure to break through. "Most of his support is anti-Bush, not pro-Kerry," said Peter Feaver, a political scientist at Duke University. "If the election were held today, 90% of people voting for Kerry would really be voting against Bush. That points to a softness in Kerry's appeal."

See also these observations by Michael Barone, based on a focus group study:

They thought that Bush was out of touch with ordinary people and didn't understand their problems, but they also found Bush likable; all but one said they would like to spend a weekend with the Bushes, who they thought would be friendly, casual, and active. They spoke movingly of Bush's strong leadership in the days and months after September 11. They gave him high marks on homeland security. But they thought he is too concerned about international issues and not enough about those in need at home.

About John Kerry they knew much less. They thought a weekend with the Kerrys would be full of outdoor activities but had little sense of his personality. Some of their impressions were negative. Several called him "arrogant" and said he waffles on issues; one mentioned that he voted for the Iraq war resolution and against the $87 billion funding - a charge the Bush ads have been making. But they seemed uninterested in another Bush charge, that he is too liberal. They did not mention abortion or gun control and mentioned the Supreme Court only once.