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<<Bush Has Double-Digit Lead on Kerry - Newsweek Poll

Sat Sep 4, 1:49 PM ET Add U.S. National - Reuters to My Yahoo!



NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) emerged from the Republican National Convention with an 11-point lead over Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites), according to a Newsweek poll released on Saturday, the second straight survey showing him ahead by double digits.
The Newsweek poll of 1,008 adults conducted on Thursday and Friday showed Bush leading Kerry by 52 percent to 41 percent among registered voters, with independent Ralph Nader (news - web sites) at 3 percent. The survey had a 4-point margin of error.


That represented a 13-point bounce for Bush since an Aug. 5-10 poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates International for the Pew Research Center, Newsweek said. Polls for months had shown Bush and Kerry running neck and neck.


A Time poll released on Friday showed Bush leading Kerry by an identical margin in a three-way race with Nader for the Nov. 2 election. That survey polled 926 likely voters from Tuesday to Thursday during the convention in New York that nominated Bush for a second term.


Newsweek's survey found that while 49 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with the country's direction versus 43 percent who were satisfied, Bush's approval rating rose to 52 percent. That was up 7 points since the magazine's last poll in late July and the first time it rose higher than 50 percent since January.


Fifty-three percent of registered voters also wanted to see Bush re-elected, the poll found. The last time a majority of Americans favored his re-election was May 2003, Newsweek said.


Among registered voters, 60 percent thought Bush would do a better job on terrorism and national security, versus 32 percent for Kerry. Bush was also favored over Kerry on foreign policy by 54 percent to 38 percent, the situation in Iraq (news - web sites) by 55 percent to 37 percent and the economy by 49 percent to 43 percent.


Respondents preferred Kerry to Bush on health care and the environment.


Twenty-eight percent of registered voters saw terrorism and homeland security as the most important issue, followed by 21 percent for the economy, 13 percent for health care and 11 percent for the situation in Iraq.>>