Today is a good day

So a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows Clark leading Bush (Clark:49, Bush:46) and is only slight ahead of my guy, Howard Dean (Bush:49, Dean:45).

Now, my normal caveat about national polls is that it is way to early to say that they indicate whether one candidate will win or not. Not many people are paying attention to these numbers.

However...

Some of the most important people in this election are paying attention to these numbers right now. Those people are the members of the establishment press. As much as we may deride them for the vacuity, they do have an inordinate influence on the public dialog. Therefore, anything that gets them off their butts and paying attention is a significant thing.

This poll will get them off their butts. No longer can they seriously push the line that Bush is unbeatable. No longer can they act like Bush is wildly popular (well, maybe FOX will try).

This poll will, I predict, bring about a sea-change in Bush coverage. Dubya has already been getting more heat than he is used to from the press because of the constant trickle of bad news from Iraq. This poll may just validates the suspicion that Bush is on shaky ground going into the 2004 election.

The press is nothing if it is not a pack of sharks that loves to go into a feeding frenzy. As much as they may have gloried in Bush's glow after 9/11, they will delight in ripping him apart if he falls.

Don't break out the champagne yet folks. But know that today is a good day.