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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ilaine who wrote (204689)	9/30/2006 2:55:21 PM
From: Sam	Respond to of 281500

I guess you never were a fan of Westerns? Well, westerns had very little to do with the reality of being a cowboy. But it figures--fans of Ronald Reagan and Dubya would typically confuse the two. Meanwhile, back at the ranch (so to speak): Allen's lead over Webb disappears in new poll By WARREN FISKE , The Virginian-Pilot © September 30, 2006 U.S. Sen. George Allen's once-formidable re-election lead over Democrat Jim Webb has crumbled, according to a new poll. Allen and Webb each drew 43 percent support in a survey of 625 Virginia registered voters who said they were likely to vote in the Nov. 7 election. The poll was conducted Sept. 23-27, in the midst of another controversy over whether Allen is insensitive to minorities. In late July, Allen had a 16 percentage-point lead over Webb. The senator's advantage shrank to 4 percentage points in early September in the wake of a widely perceived slur Allen uttered to a Webb staffer of Indian heritage. Allen's lead disappeared this month amid his angry denial and subsequent acknowledgment of his Jewish ancestry, and allegations that he often used a racial epithet to refer to blacks when he was a student at the University of Virginia in the early 1970s. Allen says the reports about his language are false. Several vulnerable areas for Allen were evident in the MSNBC/McClatchy Poll, conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research of Washington and provided to The Virginian-Pilot. The race is tied even though Allen is better-known to voters than Webb: Allen is known by 99 percent of the voters; Webb, 92 percent. Forty-one percent had a favorable impression of Allen, 32 percent had an unfavorable impression and 27 percent were neutral. Webb drew a positive rating from 31 percent, negative from 20 percent and 41 percent were neutral. Another sticking point for Allen could be his strong support of President Bush. In the poll, 57 percent of respondents said they disapproved of Bush's overall job performance and 42 percent said they approved - numbers that have remained steady in Virginia since July. Asked whether they approve of Bush's policies in Iraq, 36 percent said yes and 62 percent said no. Voters are divided over what the United States should do next in Iraq. Twenty-six percent said more soldiers should be deployed, 19 percent said troop levels should remain unchanged, 21 percent said some should be withdrawn, and 20 percent said all personnel should come home. Twenty-one percent of the respondents said they approve of the way Congress is doing its job, 69 percent disapprove. Twenty-nine percent said the country is heading in the right direction, while 57 percent said it is on the wrong track. Asked to state the most important issue in this fall's Senate election, 23 percent said the Iraq war, 19 percent said terrorism and security, 16 percent said the economy and jobs, and 10 percent said health care. Sixty-three percent said they were worried about the direction of the economy; 37 percent were not. Seventy-percent were fretful about another terrorist attack in the United States; 30 percent were at ease. Just over half - 53 percent of those polled - said that illegal immigrants working in the United States should be given a chance to stay, while 36 percent said they should be deported. The White House and both chambers of Congress are now controlled by Republicans. Forty-two percent of those surveyed said it is better if control is divided, 36 percent said the country runs better under single-party sway. While Allen might appear vulnerable in the poll, he enjoys a huge advantage over Webb that is not measured in polls, Allen's campaign treasury was 16 times larger than Webb's at the end of June, when the candidates were last required to file federal reports. Although Webb says he's been successful raising money during the past few months, Allen is expected to retain a significant cash advantage when the next federal reports are released on Oct. 15. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 4 percentage points, meaning that there is a 95 percent probability that the actual figure would fall into that range if the entire population were sampled. • Reach Warren Fiske at (804)697-1565 or at warren.fiske@pilotonline.com. home.hamptonroads.com