WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic presidential ticket gained a solid bounce in a new poll following last week's convention but the new nominee, Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites), said on Sunday he wasn't paying attention.
Kerry, appearing on "Fox News Sunday" with his running mate, Sen. John Edwards (news - web sites), said he remembered far too well the polls last year that showed his presidential bid staggering.
"Polls are not what's important. What's important is what we're going to do for America," Kerry said.
"I don't read polls. I really don't. They are going to go up and down. They're going to change," he added.
The Newsweek poll released on Saturday said Kerry, who has been running in a virtual dead heat with Republican President Bush (news - web sites), gained a four-point boost in the polls from the Democratic National Convention held last week in Boston.
In the poll conducted on Thursday and on Friday, Kerry received 49 percent of the vote to Bush's 42 percent and 3 percent for independent candidate Ralph Nader (news - web sites). In early July, Kerry led Bush 47 percent to 44 percent, with Nader at 3 percent.
Without Nader in the race, Kerry led Bush in the new poll by 51 percent to 45 percent. The poll of about 1,000 registered voters had a 3 percent margin of error.
Conventions are often the first time the general public tunes into a presidential race, and polls have shown many Americans are still unfamiliar with Kerry, a four-term U.S. senator, decorated Vietnam War veteran and former prosecutor.
Kerry had been hoping for a measurable surge in public approval, known as "bounce," which sometimes has given nominees a double-digit boost in the polls following their four days in the spotlight. Democrats this year have said the closely divided electorate and relatively small number of undecided voters made a big bounce unlikely.
Bush likely will benefit similarly when Republicans gather for their nominating convention in New York at the end of August.