Frank Luntz

Pollster Frank Luntz, whose Washington research firm works with Republican political candidates, was last Friday's guest. Here are excerpts from his remarks:

"They are going to be the battleground for the next four years. [Of] first-time youth voters, 62 percent supported Kerry; 35 percent supported Bush. They are, for the Democrats, the beginning of a core constituency if they hope to return to power. The Democratic Party cannot win without the youth voting in even larger numbers."

"Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but [young people] are not reading your newspapers. And I am sorry, too, [for] the anchors of the networks, but they are not watching them, either. A greater degree with every passing month are getting their information from the Internet."

"The advocates of Social Security reform who use the word 'privatize' might as well be putting a gun to their heads. If it is a debate about 'private,' it will fail. If it is a debate about personalization, Bush will win."

"He has the potential to make even more change than Ronald Reagan did. He doesn't give up. He doesn't give in. And he doesn't take 'no' for an answer. And he knows exactly what to say and when to say it. I am now a believer."