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Politics : Al Gore vs George Bush: the moderate's perspective -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (2442)	10/14/2000 1:04:03 PM
From: Slugger	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10042

Bush Widens Lead Over Gore to 3 Points With little more than three weeks before the presidential election, George W. Bush advanced his lead over Al Gore to 3 points, according to a Reuters/MSNBC daily tracking poll released Saturday. The Texas governor edged out the vice president, 44 percent to 41 percent, in the survey of 1,206 likely voters conducted Wednesday through Friday by pollster John Zogby. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent, making the contest a statistical dead-heat. Green Party candidate Ralph Nader continued to garner 4 percent of the vote; Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan held his 1 percent and the undecided maintained 10 percent, 24 days before the Nov. 7 election. Two-thirds of the poll was completed after Wednesday's second presidential debate in North Carolina. "Gore has had two bad polling days in a row, polling 39 percent both Thursday and Friday," Zogby said. "It's clear now that Bush won the second debate," he said. The Texan was able to hold his own with Gore during the debate in a detailed discussion of foreign policy, previously thought to be his vulnerability. The two candidates face off again in their third and final debate next week in St. Louis. B>Other Trends Show Gore Lagging Zogby saw other trends that are unfavorable to the vice president. When voters were asked who they would like to see as president, regardless of whom they would vote for, 40 percent said Bush, 37 percent said Gore and 9 percent said Nader. In addition, Gore now receives a 57 percent favorable rating, 40 percent unfavorable rating compared to 62 percent favorable rating, 34 percent unfavorable rating for Bush. The race is shaping up as the closest election since John F. Kennedy edged Richard Nixon in 1960. But this is the first time Bush has risen above 43 percent since the poll began on Sept 29. Gore leads in the East and the Central/Great Lakes regions while Bush has widened his edge in the South and the West. Gore maintains his lead among large city voters but Bush has pushed ahead among small city voters and still claims the advantage among suburban and rural voters. Bush Has Tight Hold on Republicans Bush has a greater hold on Republicans, with 85 percent saying they will vote for the Texas governor. Only 76 percent of Democrats, by contrast, support Gore. Bush now leads Gore among independents, 41 percent to 34 percent. Bush also leads among conservatives and very conservatives, while Gore is favored by progressives, liberals and moderates. Bush continues to have the advantage among the $25,000-$50,000 income group, besting Gore 44 percent to 41 percent. Since 1972, no president has been elected without winning that constituency. In the equally tight race for control of the House of Representatives, where Republicans currently have a wafer-thin 6-seat majority, Democrats have lost their lead and now trail the Republicans by two points — 38 percent to 40 percent. In the presidential race, 73 percent of voters said they were unlikely to change their minds. Thirty-eight percent had definitely ruled out voting for Bush while 41 percent had ruled out Gore. Reuters and MSNBC will release a new poll every day until the election. The surveys are made up of a rolling daily sample of 400 likely voters each day to create a three-day sample of about 1,200. — Reuters contributed to this report. foxnews.com