bumps and bruises

Despite the lack of a big post-convention bump in the head-to-head poll numbers, the Zogby poll (the most accurate in 2000) shows Kerry ahead in 13 of 16 battleground states, his best showing of the year. And the Marist poll confirms that Kerry has a cumulative lead in the battleground states, by about 8 points.

Though margins mostly continue to be very close, Kerry has opened a big lead in Illinois and some polls show a significant lead opening up in Pennsylvania.

Yesterday both Kerry and Bush campaigned in Davenport, Iowa at the same time. With the police otherwise occupied, shrewd political observers held up three banks. So we'd guess there aren't going to be many other towns interested in similiar simultaneity.