by Mona Iskander
NARR: According to a Marist College poll, John Kerry has a commanding lead among New York voters with 64 percent of the likely vote. Edwards comes in second with 22 percent. Word on the street seems to confirm this prediction. Herman Tucker, a retired Verizon employee says that Kerry's political career gives him more credibility than others.
ACT: TUCKER: He's a more down to earth politician than edwards. edwards really doesn't have a background in politics.. he just came out of congress. look how many years that kerry has in his background. (:11)
NARR: KC Roberts, a messenger, agrees and his vote will also go to Kerry this Tuesday. His main concerns in this election year are the economy and he hopes that Kerry can resurrect what he believes is a depressed work force.
ACT: ROBERTS: jobs are the most important issue; to make money, to make a better living bc people today these days are very unemployed, and businesses lost and budgets were down. (:39)
NARR: Hank Sheinkoff, a democratic political strategist says that the New York vote will be an important one in the national picture. He says that New Yorkers tend to the leading candidate.
SHEINKOPF: they'll always shed a tear for underdog but they usually go with frontrunners with pres. primaries and should be no different this tuesday. you can expect jK to win by reasonable margin. (:18)
NARR: And he says that one of the main reasons that New Yorkers are looking to Kerry is because of their passionate belief that the administration in Washington has got to go.
SHEINKOPF: ny is a dem. city, 8:1 reg. and nys overall has a 2M plus, dem. reg. edge, only question is: when can bush leave the white house. (:13)
NARR: This is definitely the case for Elyse Laterell, a bartender who lives in New York. She is still undecided.
LATERELL: i need to look into it more. im leaning toward kerry bc that's where everybody else is leaning and pushing and momentum and i think its really important to get bush out of office bc im sick of it, just like everybody else.
NARR: And with Bush's approval rate falling, New Yorkers may get their wish. The most recent Gallup poll shows that if the election were held today, either Kerry or Edwards would beat him.
NARR: For Columbia Radio News, I'm Mona Iskander