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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JohnM who wrote (4547)	8/8/2003 1:23:13 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793693

Poll: Democrats dismayed with party effort on issues By WILL LESTER Associated Press Six in 10 Democrats are dissatisfied with the party's performance on core issues such as helping the poor and aiding the average worker, according to a poll that also found Democrats noticing the Presidential candidate who often rails against Washington, Howard Dean. Just 38 percent of Democrats said their party is doing an excellent or good job in protecting the interests of minorities, aiding the needy and representing working Americans, down from 47 percent in May 2001, according to the poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press released Thursday. This Democratic frustration is even more pronounced among liberals, with only 31 percent saying the party is doing an excellent or good job on traditional issues. By contrast, 57 percent of Republicans gave their party high marks on issues such as cutting taxes and pushing social issues important to conservatives. "Democratic voters don't feel the party leaders are talking about the things that the party stands for," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center Although the poll found that the disaffection still hasn?t boosted the candidacy of any of the nine Democratic candidates, it did show that Dean, who uses the borrowed line of being from the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party," making greater gains than his rivals. Dean's name recognition increased from 37 percent in early July to 46 percent in the poll conducted July 14-Aug. 5, and among those who have heard of him, 41 percent said there was a good or some chance they would vote for him, up from 32 percent in July. Still, Dean trails his more well-known competitors. Fifty percent said they might vote for Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, the 2000 vice presidential nominee; 47 percent mentioned Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and 45 percent Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri. Dean adviser Steve McMahon said the former Vermont governor finds in his campaign travels that "Democrats are almost as angry at the Democrats in Washington as they are at Republicans in Washington." The poll also found a drop in President Bush's popularity. His job approval rating fell to 53 percent in the poll, close to the his level of support before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and down from 58 percent in July. Certain to give Democrats hope was Bush's hypothetical matchup with a generic Democrat; the president prevailed 43 percent to 38 percent. An increasing number of Americans also said the focus should be on the economy rather than the war on terrorism. In a reverse from January, 57 percent said the economy is a more important presidential priority while 27 percent said the war on terror. Women, especially older women, and Americans who are middle-income or lower-income, have moved away from Bush, the poll showed. The national poll of 2,258 adults has an error margin of plus or minus 2 percentage points, slightly higher for the 1,866 registered voters. theunionleader.com