Since the conclusion of the Republican National Convention, President George W. Bush has taken a seven-point lead over Sen. John Kerry in recent polls, a jump that Kerry did not experience after the Democratic National Convention in July.
Those following the election attribute the bounce to a number of factors, one of those being ads placed by third-party political groups not directly affiliated with the candidates.
Bob Shepherd, Centre County Democratic Committee chair, said the recent polls are not a concern for the Democratic Party.
"Unless there is a consistent polling result for a long period of time with a big difference in the polls, I don't feel they are a big deal," Shepherd said.
Some Democrats disregard the influence of the Republican convention on Bush's popularity.
"The post-convention bounce that Bush got is no indication of how the election will go," said Rich Rogers, Democratic candidate for the Pennsylvania General Assembly 171st district.
However, Republicans argue that the public cannot relate to Kerry and that Bush's surge in the polls is the result of both the convention and his long-term campaign message.
"You do expect a bounce following a convention just because of the media attention that is played from that. I don't think we saw that from Senator Kerry, but I believe that we have seen such a bounce from Bush," said G.T. Thompson, Centre County Republican Party chair.
Both presidential candidates' popularity has been under attack throughout the current campaign season and is constantly being measured.
"Polling is important throughout the process for varying purposes; both campaigns have internal polling, as well as the RNC and DNC, as well as many state-level campaigns also retain private pollsters as well," said Penn State student Tiffany Iriana, Students for Bush in Pennsylvania executive director.
Iriana said one reason for Kerry's drop in the polls could be criticism of Kerry's war record by 527 groups, which are named after their tax-code designation.
Political science professor James Eisenstein said these groups get around the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Bill, which limits contributions to political parties, by remaining independent from the campaigns. The groups can raise and spend as much money as they want, he added.
The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, an active 527 group, has begun an ad campaign attacking Kerry.
Several Democrats denounced the group and Kerry's service in Vietnam has become a cornerstone of his campaign.
Moveon.org, a liberal-leaning 527 group, has produced television ads comparing Bush to Hitler.
"The Swift votes are credible, unlike moveon.org; they are veterans and they do not have much political motivation to be lying," said Shauna Moser, Penn State Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) vice chair.
However, everyone does not agree about the necessity of the political activity of the 527 groups in the political debate.
"Unfortunately, for every piece of legislation that is passed, there are both intentional and unintentional consequences," Thompson said.
"McCain-Feingold empowered these fringe groups by leaving loopholes, while it hurt the free speech of individuals."
Bush has called for the dismissal of all 527 organizations, which are contributing to the political ads.
Liberal-leaning groups outnumber and out-fund conservative 527s significantly.
"527s are the law of the land," Shepherd said.
Politicians are fighting for a small percentage of swing voters and polls should be switching soon, said communication arts and sciences professor Dianne Gregg, who is working as Pennsylvania Legislature candidate Jon Eich's campaign manager.
"This is the most important time for students since the '60s," Gregg said. "Students are going to make a powerful difference in this election, but they have to get out and vote."
