US: US presidential candidates usually expect a bump in their poll ratings from party convention, but President George Bush seems to be getting his boost in advance of the Republican national convention, which begins in New York on Monday.
A new Los Angeles Times poll gives Mr Bush a lead over his Democratic opponent for the first time this year, scoring 49 per cent to 46 per cent for Senator John Kerry, while a CNN poll puts the race at 48-47 for the Massachusetts senator, a statistical dead heat.
Mr Bush can expect a further bounce after the convention, especially if anti-Bush demonstrations degenerate into violence on Manhattan's streets, observers say.
Tension has begun building up in New York over the prospect of disorder after a state judge ruled on Wednesday that the largest protest, planned for Sunday, could not use Central Park because of possible grass damage.
The organisers, United for Peace and Justice will go ahead with a march near the convention site and rally instead in the much smaller Union Square.
Yesterday a large banner with arrows pointing Mr Bush one way and "Truth" the other was hung from the New York Plaza hotel for 45 minutes before police removed it and made several arrests.
The Democratic challenger, who got no more than a few percentage points from his party rally in Boston four weeks ago, has been grazed since then by slashing attacks on his Vietnam service record, the LA Times poll shows.
Placed by a group known as Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the ads have hijacked the election campaign and raised doubts about Mr Kerry's character.
Mr Bush yesterday telephoned Republican Senator John McCain who had announced his intention of asking the president to urge they be dropped, and suggested they work together in getting court action to shut down all independent groups, known as 527s, running campaign ads.
"The president said he wanted to work together [with McCain\] to pursue court action to shut down all the ads and activity by the shadowy . . . groups," White House spokesman Mr Scott McClellan told reporters aboard Air Force One.
"The president condemns all the ads and activity by these shadowy groups," Mr McClellan added.
Mr Bush still has not personally condemned the specific anti-Kerry ads, which have been widely discredited for inaccuracies, but has taken the position that the ads from both sides are a systemic problem that needs to be addressed.
A ban on the 527s would benefit Mr Bush's campaign most, as the Democrats have more independent support groups on their side and cannot match the Republicans in official spending.
Mr Kerry said he would respect a request from Mr McCain to stop running ads quoting the Arizona senator when he bitterly criticised Mr Bush during the 2000 Republican primaries over attacks on McCain's own Vietnam service.
"It's long past time that George Bush also take John McCain's advice and do the right thing by putting an end to the smears and lies attacking John Kerry's military service," said Kerry spokesperson Mr David Wade.
The CNN poll also showed the extent of the damage the ads have done to Mr Kerry. After his Democratic convention where he heavily emphasised his Vietnam combat record, 42 per cent of voters said his military service made them more likely to back him in November.
This is now down to 21 per cent.
However 50 per cent of Americans see the hand of Mr Bush behind the attack ads, despite the president's denials, and 56 per cent said he should disown them.