Bush v Kerry: Round 3

With online polls, every American with access to the internet can be part of the great American political spin machine.

Voters may only get one vote at the ballot box on Election Day, but they get more if they participate in online polls on major news sites. The political parties are counting on votes in these online questionnaires to sway the tight election in favor of their candidates.

Before the first presidential debate, Sen. John Kerry's campaign e-mailed its supporters, as part of its rapid-response effort, instructing them to visit online polls on news sites and cast their vote for Kerry. Even before traditional polling firms surveyed likely voters that evening, &to=http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/368/13581_Kerry.html' target=_blank>online polls declared Kerry the winner, reports Wired News.

As &to=http://english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/98/387/11284_politics.html' target=_blank>President Bush and Sen. John Kerry go into their third and final debate Wednesday night, both men face enormous pressure in their last face-to-face opportunity to change the dynamic of a close race.

Bush, some political analysts say, still needs to dispel voters' doubts after an unsteady performance in the first debate Sept. 30 in Coral Gables, Fla. Although Bush was credited with a solid showing in the second debate last week in St. Louis, the gains Kerry has seen in state and national polls in the past two weeks underline the need for Bush to come across as presidential and in command, reports USA Today.

According to Boston Globe, the president did not carve out time for formal &to=http://english.pravda.ru/printed.html?news_id=14368' target=_blank>debate preparation in the last few days, though he has done some work with senior aides and Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, who helped the president prepare for the previous debates by playing the role of Kerry in mock face-offs. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said most of the president's preparation has consisted of reading up on Kerry's Senate record and the positions he's taken over the years.