I brought this thread up because it has the appropiate title. Of course, it also looks pretty good for Clark. Check this out: Bush's strength wanes, poll says By Richard Benedetto, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — The unsettled state of the presidential race is the key finding of a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll that shows retired general Wesley Clark and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry narrowly ahead of President Bush among registered voters. (Related link: Poll results) Bush narrowly leads former Vermont governor Howard Dean, Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman. The results for the five leading Democrats are so close they are within the poll's margin of error. More than a year before the election, the findings don't project a winner so much as they show that Bush has lost the perception that he is the strong favorite. Answers to questions about Iraq indicate why some of Bush's strength has faded. Americans are split over whether the war was worth fighting; 50% say yes, 48% no. That is a dramatic drop from April, when, as Saddam Hussein's statue was falling in Baghdad, 76% said the war was worth it. Further bad news for Bush: His job approval is at 50%, his lowest rating since taking office. The poll was taken last week as news from Iraq focused on U.S. troops being killed in attacks and Bush was seeking more international help to stabilize the country. Analysts caution that with the election 14 months away, poll standings can change dramatically. "This poll is a reflection of the president, measuring how well people think he's doing. Right now, there's visceral unhappiness with what they see out there," says Stephen Hess, a political scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington. Christine Iverson, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, says Bush's drop is typical for first-term presidents. "Every incumbent president in the past 25 years has been behind the opposition in his first term," she says. "But this president is still viewed as a strong leader, and his strength is greater than or equal to that of Ronald Reagan in the spring of 1983 and Bill Clinton in the fall of 1995. They both won re-election." The poll further reflects recent news coverage that focused on Clark, a former NATO commander, who announced his candidacy last Wednesday and quickly leaped to the top of the Democratic field of 10. Among registered Democrats polled, Clark led in the race for the nomination with 22%, followed by Dean with 13%, Kerry and Gephardt with 11% and Lieberman with 10% Other Democrats got 4% or less. "Clark is benefiting because the poll came when he was getting maximum media attention," Hess says. "He hasn't been put under the microscope yet by the press or his fellow candidates." http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-09-22-bush-poll_x.htm
