Gore’s endorsement and alarm over Iraq give the Democratic candidate a boostweb exclusiveBy Brian Braiker
Newsweek
Dec. 13 - Former Vice President Al Gore’s endorsement of Howard Dean appears to have hurtled the former Vermont governor into a comfortable lead ahead of the other Democratic contenders for the presidential nomination, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll.
"I have come to the conclusion that in a field of great candidates, one candidate clearly now stands out," Gore told a $125-a-plate breakfast at the National Black Theater Institute of Action Art in Harlem on Dec. 9. Registered Democrats seem to have agreed: 24 percent of those polled rank Dean as their first choice, a big jump from 16 percent one month ago. Retired Gen. Wesley Clark and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman are tied for a distant second with a distant 12 percent of Democrats pulling for their nomination (Clark is down from 15 percent while Lieberman is up from 8).
Meanwhile, neither good news on the economy, the passage of a Medicare bill nor his surprise Thanksgiving visit to Baghdad seem to have boosted President George W. Bush’s approval ratings among all registered voters: with 51 percent approving and 42 disapproving, his ratings are the lowest in the NEWSWEEK poll’s history. And less than half (45 percent) of voters say they want Bush to be reelected.
If an election were held today between Dean and Bush, the Vermonter would still likely lose (the president retains a 49 to 42 percent lead among all registered voters in a two-way race). A full 34 percent of all voters give Dean little or no chance of winning in a face-off against Bush.
http://msnbc.msn.com/Default.aspx?id=3703722&p1=0
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