One reason is that candidates often lose some of the bounce in support they gained from their convention. But the erosion in Kerry's standing also may be attributable to the attacks on his Vietnam service and continued criticism from Bush and his campaign of the Democrat's record and reliability.
Bush is viewed as more honest and trustworthy than Kerry by 47 percent to 41 percent -- exactly reversing the results of the Post-ABC News poll taken immediately after the Democratic convention.
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Video Report: The Post's Dana Milbank expands on the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, which finds President Bush holding a firm advantage over Sen. John Kerry in security and leadership issues
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Bush also is seen by a growing majority as the stronger leader and has narrowed Kerry's lead from 14 percentage points to six points as the candidate who best understands the problems of people like them. He has tied Kerry as the candidate who best shares their values and drawn nearly even with the Democrat as the candidate who has a vision for the future, two areas where Kerry led immediately after his party's convention.
On key issues as well as character, Bush has improved his position since the Democratic convention. Kerry is no longer viewed as the candidate best able to deal with the economy -- an issue of growing importance to Americans this year, according to the survey. Voters are now evenly divided over which candidate would do the better job with economic issues.
By 52 percent to 44 percent, voters now judge Bush superior to Kerry as the candidate who would be best able to deal with the situation in Iraq. After the Democratic convention, the two were essentially tied.
In barely a month, Bush has surged to an 18-point advantage over Kerry as the candidate voters prefer to lead the war on terrorism. Immediately after the Democratic convention, Bush held a three-point lead over Kerry on this key measure.
The Post-ABC News survey also found that Vietnam haunts both Kerry and Bush. In recent weeks, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has said Kerry did not deserve the medals he won for service during Vietnam and may have exaggerated other details of his service during the war.
By nearly 3 to 1, voters reject those claims and say Kerry does deserve his Vietnam medals. And two-thirds disapprove of the commercials critical of Kerry, though voters remain divided over whether the Bush campaign was behind the ads.
More broadly, most voters dismissed the issue of each candidate's military service during the Vietnam era. Six in 10 said Kerry's war record does not affect their decision to vote for him, while seven in 10 said Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard during Vietnam is not an issue. In addition, half say Kerry's opposition to the Vietnam War after he left the military was not relevant to them, though one in four said it made them less likely to vote for Kerry, while a slightly smaller proportion said his actions made them more inclined to support him.
"It's all a sideshow," said Melissa Mathias, 24, a first-grade teacher who lives in Chrisman, Ill. "There are lot more important issues. They just pick at each other's faults -- like first-graders."
