Dems Still Waiting For A Bump

CHICAGO (AllPolitics, Aug. 29) -- President Bill Clinton maintains a 13-point lead over his Republican rival Robert Dole in the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll.

The latest survey, conducted Wednesday and today, shows Clinton with a 51-38 percent lead over Dole, with 7 percent favoring Reform Party nominee Ross Perot.

That's virtually identical to the last CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey, which was conducted Aug. 23-25, immediately before the Democratic convention. That survey showed Clinton with a 50-38 percent lead over Dole.

The latest survey polled 622 registered voters and has a margin of sampling error of +/- four percentage points. About half of the interviews were conducted before today's announcement that Clinton strategist Dick Morris had quit the campaign in the wake of tabloid allegations that he had a year-long affair with a prostitute.

The new poll also asked whether people think the phrase "It takes a village to raise a child" sends a good or bad message about the roles that government and families have in raising children.

First Lady Hillary Clinton wrote a book by that name, but Dole criticized the concept in his acceptance speech, saying the family, not the state, should have the primary responsibility for rearing children.

Thirty-eight percent said they thought the phrase sends a good message and 27 percent said it sends a bad message, but 33 percent said they were unsure what it meant.

On another question, 43 percent said Elizabeth Dole would make a better first lady, while 42 percent backed Hillary Clinton. However, more voters -- 51 percent -- have a favorable view of Mrs. Clinton than in mid-August, when the number stood at 47 percent.

In addition, 52 percent said the Democratic Party better represents their values, compared to 39 percent who said the Republicans.

Dems Still Waiting For A Bump

The Poll

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