Four months before vote, Bush and Kerry are still neck-and-neck

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2004

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Four months before the November presidential elections, US President George W. Bush and his Democratic rival, John Kerry, are still running neck-and-neck.

"This is really basically quite unprecedented," said Stephen Hess of the Brookings Institution, who has been following US presidential elections for the past 50 years.

As the economy improves and the interim Iraqi government takes its first steps after the handover of power this week, Bush's standing seems to have improved.

But Kerry seems to have improved his fund raising, collecting more money from his Democratic supporters than the president was able to collect from Republicans.

According to the most recent opinion polls, Bush's approval rating remains under 50 percent....