Gallup has Bush up by 13 points

USA Today (USAT) is reporting in their latest USAT/CNN/Gallup Poll that President George Bush has opend a 13 point lead of challenger Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) in surveys taken during the beginning of this week. A separate survey has Bush leading Kerry in the battleground state of Pennsylvania by either 3 or 4 points, depending on the survey.

In this space yesterday, it was reported that Bush lead Kerry in New Jersey and has significantly tightened the race in NY, Minnesota and Maine.

Observation: As Bush pulls ahead, watch for people to "vote their hopes" and defect to Green Party Ralph Nader. These voters rationale: they are the Anybody but Bush (ABB) people who latched onto Kerry once it was clear that Howard Dean (D-VT) was not ready for prime time. This will pull Kerry down in a few states with a huge Michael Moore faction of the democratic party (read "NY and California"). Bush still tales at least 40 states will a good chance to run the table.