Faint Kerry Support

Polls show that Bush's support base is solidly pro-Bush. Those same polls show that Kerry's support is anti-Bush, but not particularly pro-Kerry.

Using a list of undecided voters supplied by the Kerry campaign, Mulle sent out 100 invitations and called 80 other wavering voters to attend a reception at her home in this tony suburb of St. Louis on Sunday. About a half-dozen showed up.

As the guests sipped wine, the discussion was more a Bush-bashing session than a Kerry pep rally. "You've told us why we should not vote for President Bush," one woman said, "now tell us why we should vote for Kerry." Campaign workers rushed to answer the question, but it symbolized one of the biggest hurdles John F. Kerry faces.

Sue Hippler, who sat quietly through most of the discussion, said she was just as in the dark on who Kerry is as a person. "One of the problems I had with Kerry while I was watching the Democratic convention, is that all he got across about himself was that he was a war hero in Vietnam. . . . That was so long ago. I was left with the feeling that I don't know what Kerry stands for," she said.

Don't worry about it Sue, you've got a lot of company, including John Kerry himself.