VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- A dozen residents from this heavily Republican and highly patriotic military town used "turmoil," "confusion" and "state of flux" to describe the direction the nation is headed in.

They flipped to Vietnam as the most apt historical chapter to describe what Americans confront at home and in Iraq. Worries about high gas prices were second only to concerns about attacks on U.S. forces and casualties in Iraq.

Overall, a listener was left with an overwhelmingly gloomy view of the nation's future, and this from a voting bloc traditionally behind President George W. Bush.

Still, the gender-divided group was remarkably unmoved by John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee. Ranging in age from 24 to 50, only one of the participants said she was firmly behind Kerry for president. The group included 7 whites and 5 blacks.

"Behind John Kerry's name right now is a question mark," said Peter Hart, a Democratic pollster who gathered the participants in this coastal town for more than 2 1/2 hours Monday evening to explore in-depth the upcoming presidential election. The focus group was conducted for the University of Pennsylvania's non-partisan Annenberg Public Policy Center.

While the responses represent only the participants' and cannot be read as a slice of the electorate, what was striking was how many of their thoughts reflected key findings of recent polls that put Bush's job approval rating at the nadir of his presidency and still find Kerry viewed as opportunistic.

A CBS/New York Times poll found Bush's approval rating at 42 percent, the lowest of his presidency. Even so, Bush and Kerry remain in a statistical dead heat, with 44 percent supporting Bush and 45 percent backing Kerry.

The poll of 1,053 people surveyed June 23-27 also found nearly 40 percent did not have an opinion of Kerry.

The participants Monday all were either enlisted or reservists in the Navy, Army and Air Force or married to someone in the military.

"The one thing that has worked against John Kerry at this stage is a lot of sand has gone through the hourglass," Hart said following the session. "We're now reaching the beginning of July. And he's going to need, at this upcoming [Democratic national] convention, a very firm handshake with the American public."

Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), who ran an impressive challenge in the primaries, was the only vice presidential contender named by participants as a good choice for Kerry. Kerry is expected to make his selection in the coming weeks.

Participants faulted Bush for several missteps in Iraq -- miscalculation of what the United States would face, no plan forward and alienating U.S. allies.

Overall, they were downcast about the nation's economy and Bush's stewardship of domestic concerns. They expressed abhorrence at the abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and dismay at what the scandal has done to U.S. standing in the world, but nearly all pointed to a few misguided soldiers as the culprits.

The largely negative view of the future clearly provides Kerry a political opportunity, but so far the uncertainty has not cost Bush.

Indeed, participants described the president as a "go- getter," "risk taker," "daring," "courageous" and "steadfast" and praised his leadership and moral values even as they questioned his job performance.

Kerry was defined as "lost" and "wishy-washy" -- points leveled by the Bush campaign in many of the more than $81-million in negative advertisements it has aired in recent months despite opposing ads by Kerry and his supporters.

There was a marked lack of knowledge about Kerry, and what participants did know was decidedly unfavorable. Many, for example, raised questions about Kerry's anti-war activities after the senator returned as a decorated veteran from the Vietnam conflict. They framed that dual role as yet another example of the Massachusetts senator straddling an issue.

Hart said the overwhelming view that Kerry lacks firm convictions represents "his single biggest weakness at this stage."

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