Kerry surges ahead of Bush: poll
Mon Apr 12, 6:27 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry surged ahead of President George W. Bush in a poll that gave the Massachusetts senator a seven point lead in a two-way race.

According to a Newsweek magazine poll, Kerry was backed by 50 percent of the people polled April 8-9, while 43 percent said they favored Bush in the November 2 presidential campaign.

The Newsweek poll was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, which interviewed 1,005 adults by telephone. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

When independent candidate Ralph Nader was added to the survey, Kerry maintained a 46 percent to 42 percent lead over Bush. Nader was blamed for grabbing crucial votes from then-vice president Al Gore, a Democrat, in the 2000 election.

Previous polls have shown Bush and Kerry running neck-and-neck.

The poll showed many Americans were unhappy with "the way things are going in this country," according to Newsweek.

While 36 percent said they were satisfied with "the way things are going in this country," 59 percent said they were dissatisfied.

White House national security adviser Condoleezza Rices much-awaited testimony before the commission investigating the September 11, 2001, attacks had a limited impact on public opinion, the poll found.

Fifty-six percent of people polled said they paid "at least some attention" to Rice's nationally televised testimony, Newsweek said.

But 43 percent said the testimony did not change their opinion of how Bush has handled terrorism and 18 percent could not say what effect it had.




____________________________________________________________________