After merely a week in the race Wes Clark is now in a statistical dead heat with W. This is of course no guarantee of anything, but it's a good indicator that the American people are starting to lose patience with Bush's empty promises.
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Sept. 22, 2003 ?|? WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrat Wesley Clark, in the presidential race for less than a week, is tied with President Bush in a head-to-head matchup, according to a poll that shows several Democratic candidates strongly challenging the Republican incumbent.
Clark, a retired Army general, garnered 49 percent support to Bush's 46 percent, which is essentially a tie given the poll's margin of error. The CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll was conducted Sept. 19-21, beginning two days after Clark announced he would become the 10th Democratic candidate for the party's nomination.
Several other Democrats who have been in the race for months also were close to Bush in direct matchups. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut also were tied with the president, while Bush held a slight lead over former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri.
In the head-to-head confrontations, it was Kerry at 48 percent to Bush's 47 percent; and Bush's 48 percent to Lieberman's 47 percent. Bush held a slight lead over Dean, 49-45 percent, and had a similar advantage over Gephardt.
Separately, Clark led all Democratic candidates in the survey released Monday that showed Bush far more vulnerable.
The president's job approval was 50 percent, with 47 percent disapproving. The public gave Bush high marks for having the personality and leadership qualities of a chief executive. But just over half, 51 percent, said they disagreed with the president on issues that matter most to them, while 46 percent agree.
Republican pollster Bill McInturff cautioned against making too much of Clark's early strength in a national poll taken so close to his well-publicized entry into the presidential race.
"There are plenty of examples where you get this enormous bounce and it usually settles quickly," said McInturff, citing Republican Sen. John McCain's showing in a South Carolina poll taken after his victory in the 2000 New Hampshire primary in 2000.
Public opinion is extremely unpredictable early in the election cycle as voters have not focused on the race, according to McInturff, who noted that Republican Bob Dole was running ahead of President Clinton the year before the election. Clinton prevailed in 1996.
Still, Clark's strong showing in early polls -- a Newsweek survey this past weekend showed Clark grouped among the leaders in the Democratic field and not far behind Bush in a head-to-head matchup -- will impress Democratic donors, said Dane Strother, a Democratic strategist not aligned with any of the campaigns.
"If you're number one in the polls, I don't care when it happens," said Strother, who pointed out that Democratic activists also will be closely watching Clark, and "you only get one chance to make a good first impression."
The battle for the party nomination will be fought state by state, and Clark's strength in early-voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire will be crucial. National polls tend to reflect name recognition and aren't the most accurate indicator of a candidate's viability.
Among voters who are Democratic or lean Democratic, Clark led all Democratic candidates with 22 percent, Dean had 13 percent, Kerry and Gephardt 11 percent and Lieberman 10 percent. The remaining candidates were in the low single digits.
The poll of 1,003 adults, including 877 registered voters, had a margin of error of plus of minus 3 percentage points, 4 points for registered voters.
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Originally, I was stoked that Clark was throwing his hat into the next election. I think he could have made a strong VP with Dean.. or Vice versa. Ill probably be voting for him even though he did further divide the party and decide to go it alone.
Of course, people here told me I was dreaming. And of course, they will claim skewed stats in this poll. I'm sure that it is slightly skewed, if only due to all of the coverage that he has gotten in the last week... he will probably fade off a little in the minds of some. Hopefully, his platform will be strong though.
We shall see. Only time will tell.
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