AP: Kerry with slight lead over Bush

The NY Times reports on an AP poll that gives John Kerry a 50% to 46% lead over the president with a three percent margin of error. Nearly three fourths of those surveyed said that they had watched the last presidential debate with 39% of those coming away with a more favorable opinion of Kerry, while just 8% felt more favorable about Bush. Nearly 33% of those polled came away with a less favorable opinion of Bush. Nearly 6 in 10 people surveyed felt the country was headed down the wrong track and Bush's job approval rating fell to 46%, down from 54% in September. Likely voters were split evenly - Bush at 49%, Kerry at 46% - over who is best suited to handle Iraq. Finally, Bush has lost a 20 point lead over the question of who would do the best job of protecting the country.