WASHINGTON – President Bush holds clear advantages over Sen. John Kerry on national security issues and leadership in the war on terrorism, but voters continue to give the president negative marks on the economy and his handling of Iraq, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Bush and Kerry remained deadlocked in the race for the White House, with each claiming 48 percent of likely voters, with 2 percent supporting independent Ralph Nader. Among all registered voters, the poll found Bush at 48 percent and Kerry at 47 percent.
The new poll found that a slight majority of registered voters – 53 percent – say Bush is more qualified than Kerry to be commander in chief, while 43 percent say they prefer the Democratic nominee.
Bush’s job approval rating stands at 50 percent. Fewer than half of all voters – 45 percent – approve of the job Bush is doing on the economy, unchanged from recent Post-ABC News polls. Fewer than half also approve of the way he is dealing with the situation in Iraq, also unchanged.
Six in 10 voters give Bush high marks for the way he has handled the war on terrorism, up slightly from last month but still below where it was as recently as April.
Overall, a majority of voters – 54 percent – said they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country, unchanged from July.
Bush is viewed as more honest and trustworthy than Kerry by 47 percent to 41 percent – exactly reversing the results of the Post-ABC News poll taken immediately after the Democratic convention.
Bush has surged to an 18-point advantage over Kerry as the candidate voters prefer to lead the war on terrorism. Immediately after the Democratic convention, Bush held a three-point lead over Kerry on this key measure.
The poll’s margin of sampling error for likely voters is plus or minus three percentage points; it is slightly smaller for registered voters.
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