NEW YORK, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Senator John Kerry has taken the lead nationally among Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters over Vermont Gov. Howard Dean in the race for the Democratic nomination, according to the latest Newsweek Poll. Kerry leads the field with 30 percent, followed by Sen. John Edwards with 13 percent. Howard Dean falls to 12 percent from 24 percent in the last Newsweek Poll two weeks ago, and is even with General Wesley Clark, also at 12 percent.
Kerry also leads the pack of Democratic contenders among registered voters as the candidate who would have a better chance of beating President George W. Bush if the election were held today. A Kerry-Bush match-up would have Kerry up by 49 percent to Bush's 46 percent. A Clark and Bush match-up would be a close race, with Bush at 48 percent and Clark at 47 percent. Bush would have an edge over Edwards (49% to 46%). Yet, with a plus or minus margin of error, these match-ups result in a statistical dead heat. And the President would beat Dean (50% to 45%) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (49% to 45%).
And Democrats and Democratic learners also think Sen. John Kerry has the best chance (48%) of defeating Bush in November, and is the candidate mostly likely to do so (43%). Howard Dean follows at 26 percent (a drop from 38% in the 12/11-12/03 Newsweek Poll). Only 15 percent think Dean would most likely defeat Bush. In third is Wesley Clark at 23 percent, and John Edwards at 22 percent. Only 14 percent say Joe Lieberman has a good chance of beating George Bush.
And more registered voters (54%) and Democrats and Democratic leaners (74%) have a favorable opinion of Kerry followed by Lieberman with 48 percent of registered voters, but only 56 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaners. Edwards follows with 60 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaners, but only 46 percent of registered voters. However, 42 percent of registered voters have an unfavorable opinion of Howard Dean, though a 57-percent majority of Democrats and Democratic leaners has a favorable opinion of the Vermont Governor.
And the combination of Democrats considered the best ticket to beat Bush in November among Democrats and Democratic leaners would be Kerry-Edwards or Kerry-Clark, both at 21 percent, followed by Kerry-Dean (19%).
Meanwhile, a week after President Bush's State of the Union address, his approval rating has fallen to 50 percent from 54 percent in the last Newsweek Poll (1/8-9/04). Yet, a 52-percent majority of registered voters says it would not like to see him re-elected to a second term. Only 44 percent say they would like to see him re-elected, a four-point drop from the last Newsweek Poll. (Of that, 37% strongly want to see him re-elected, and 47% strongly do not). However, a large majority of voters (78%) says that it is very likely (40%) or somewhat likely (38%) that Bush will in fact be re- elected to a second term in office. Only 10 percent believe it is not too likely or not at all likely (10%).
With 52 percent of registered voters saying they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the U.S. this year, the issues that are very important in helping them determine who they will vote for are: the economy and jobs (83%); health care (75%) and education (74%); the situation in Iraq and terrorism and homeland security (70%). The least important is the appointing of new Supreme Court justices and federal judges (42%).
A 53-percent majority of Democrats and Democratic leaners say they are more inclined to vote for the candidate who comes closest to their way of thinking on the issues rather than the candidate with the best chance of defeating President Bush (39%). And the large majority (71%), says it's very important that the Democratic presidential nominee has clear-cut alternatives to Bush on issues like Iraq and taxes; can attract young people and other first-time voters to turn out and support the Democratic ticket (70%); understands the concerns of working families because he grew up in one (64%); has foreign policy and national defense experience (56%), and comes across as even-tempered and appeals to voters in the South (54%).
For this Newsweek Poll, Princeton Survey Research Associates International interviewed 1,006 adults aged 18 and older on January 22-23, 2004. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. This poll is part of the February 2 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, January 26).
"I don't think they existed," Kay told Reuters on Friday. "What everyone was talking about is stockpiles produced after the end of the [1991] gulf war, and I don't think there was a large-scale production program in the '90s."
Former U.N. inspector to head WMD hunt in Iraq Kay: No WMD stockpiles found in Iraq Saturday, January 24, 2004 Posted: 0132 GMT ( 9:32 AM HKT)
Charles Duelfer said in a statement that he is approaching his appointment "with an open mind."
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A former U.N. weapons inspection official will lead the U.S. hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, CIA Director George Tenet said Friday.
Charles Duelfer, 51, the former deputy executive chairman of the U.N. Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM), will take over from David Kay, who is stepping down as Tenet's special adviser on the search for banned weapons in Iraq.
Duelfer worked with UNSCOM from 1993 to 2000, as its inspectors played a cat-and-mouse game with deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
"Given his knowledge of Iraqi weapons programs and his understanding of the nature and extent of Iraqi efforts to conceal these programs, I can think of no one better suited to carry on this very important work," Tenet said in a written statement.
Since leaving UNSCOM, Duelfer, a former State Department official, has been a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.
"I'm honored that director Tenet has asked me to tackle this challenging assignment," Duelfer said in a written statement. "I'm approaching it with an open mind and am absolutely committed to following the evidence wherever it takes us."
Duelfer, considered a tough-minded pragmatist, has recently expressed skepticism that any chemical or biological weapons will be found in Iraq. However, he has also expressed optimism in the past that a more complete account of Iraq's weapons programs might emerge once people involved are free to speak.
In a 1998 interview with CNN, he said, "We are convinced that Iraq retains documents that could help us get a more verifiable explanation of the program. We are convinced that there are individuals in Iraq who could help us understand this, should they be able to speak to us freely."
Kay, supported by the coalition's Iraq Survey Group, went to Iraq in the wake of the war to lead the search for evidence of weapons of mass destruction.
In his State of the Union speech Tuesday, President Bush said a report by Kay's group identified "dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations.
"Had we failed to act, the dictator's weapons of mass destruction programs would continue to this day," the president said.
But though Kay has said new information has been uncovered about Iraq's programs -- particularly its efforts to build missiles -- he has since concluded there are no weapons stockpiles to be found.
"I don't think they existed," Kay told Reuters on Friday. "What everyone was talking about is stockpiles produced after the end of the [1991] gulf war, and I don't think there was a large-scale production program in the '90s."
He also told Reuters that most of the weapons evidence has been found but that any further search would be much more difficult after control of the country is returned to Iraqis.
Kay did praise the team's efforts.
"Despite arduous working conditions and an inhospitable and often threatening environment, the ISG ... has performed its important mission with great skill and the utmost integrity," Kay said in a written statement. "While there are many unresolved issues, I am confident that the ISG will do everything possible to answer remaining questions about the former Iraqi regime's WMD efforts."
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