Clinton Holds 12-Point Lead In New Poll

[poll information] CHICAGO (AllPolitics, Aug. 25) -- President Bill Clinton holds a 12-point lead over GOP nominee Bob Dole in a three-way race, according to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll. That's up from the seven-point lead Clinton had last week, and suggests Dole's convention "bounce" may have started to fade.

In a three-way race, Clinton garnered 50 percent of respondents (up two points from last week), Dole 38 percent (down three points), and Reform Party nominee Ross Perot seven percent (no gain after the Reform Party convention). Although Clinton's lead has widened, it is not nearly as high as the 22-point lead he had going into the Republican convention. In a two-way race, the Clinton-Gore ticket beats the Dole-Kemp ticket, 54-41 percent.

The telephone survey of 1,188 adult Americans, 1,003 of them registered voters, and was conducted August 23-25. It has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.

Last week, Dole got an unusually strong bounce following a glitch-free San Diego convention, which was energized by Dole's selection of former Housing Secretary Jack Kemp as his running mate.

But Clinton came back this week with a spate of bill signings on welfare, the minimum wage and health care, and he announced a major new regulatory strategy to reduce teen age smoking. He also made proposals during his weekly radio address aimed at tracking sex offenders.

Though anathema to liberals, his decision to sign GOP welfare legislation appears to have been shrewd politics: 58 percent approved Clinton's handling of welfare, up 19 points since March. On tobacco issues, 63 percent supported the president, even as Dole dismissed his endorsement of new Food and Drug Administration regulations as a political gimmick.

Though Clinton heads to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with a 53 percent approval rating, he has some weaknesses to overcome.

A majority disapproved of his handling of the federal budget deficit, and he scored poorly on taxes (45 percent approval -- 49 percent disapproval), Medicare (44 percent -- 46 percent), and health care policy (42 percent -- 49 percent) as well. A majority disapprove of how Clinton is handling the problem of drug abuse (43 percent -- 50 percent).

Clinton Holds 12-Point Lead In New Poll

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