Reply #8: Not to mention at least tthe poll I saw [View All]

[karynnj]

used a smoothed average - where several days' polling were aggregated with the most recent one getting the highest weight. This technique does tone down outliers but it makes it harder to see changes as easily. Kerry moved steadily upward.

Conspiracy theories not withstanding, it is far more likely that what people saw on their TVs in the last 2 weeks had a major impact. In one day, these stories played together.

- Kerry was reunited with Rassman, the marine whose life he saved. Rassman, a life long Republican who had worked as a policeman. The footage was "made for tv". Kerry was very emotional and when Rassman praised him and said to the crowd that "this man saved my life", Kerry almost shyly said that "anyone would have done it."

- Dean, angered ay a seventy-some year old heckler, looked angry and red faced. pointed a finger at him and told him to "sit down".

These were not average moment for the two candidates, but they were played all that day on the cable stations - I assume they made the Iowa news too. This was REAL - and if you were not 100% committed and were between these two men - these views likely swung voters - and they should both showed something real about the candidates' temperments or character.