Polls show Bush maintains lead over Kerry

New polls released Friday showed that US President George W. Bush maintains his lead over Senator John Kerry, his Democratic challenger, less than six weeks away from the Nov. 2 election.

Many American voters said their decision could hinge on what they see next Thursday when the two meet head-to-head in the first presidential debate this year.

A CBS poll found that the nationwide vote for the president remained largely the same as it was last week: Bush held an eight-point lead over Kerry.

Among registered voters, the Bush-Cheney ticket would receive 49 percent of the support, compared with 41 percent for the Kerry-Edwards ticket, and independent candidate Ralph Nader would get 2 percent of the support.

Last week, the Republican ticket was backed by 50 percent of those surveyed, against 41 percent for the Democratic candidates.

Among likely voters - those deemed the most probable to turn out in November - Bush led Kerry 51 percent to 42 percent. WithoutNader, the race between Bush and Kerry was virtually the same among registered voters: 49 percent for Bush and 41 percent for Kerry.

The survey, which showed Bush's job approval rating at 48 percent, found that 61 percent of those canvassed had a lot or some confidence in Bush to make the right decisions about Iraq, upfive points from last month, while Kerry's numbers were down from 63 to 51 percent.

The poll, conducted among 1,083 adults Monday through Wednesdaywith a sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points, also showed that Americans were eager to see the first presidential debate scheduled for Sept. 30, and 27 percent of the voters said the debate could influence their votes.

Meanwhile, a Time Magazine survey, taken over three days after Kerry delivered his most fierce attack on Bush's Iraq policies Monday, gave Bush a 48-42 percent lead over Kerry among likely voters, while Nader was supported by 5 percent of those polled.

The poll found that 37 percent of registered voters considered the president "truthful in describing the situation" in Iraq but 55 percent agreed that the situation was worse than Bush had reported.

The Time survey also suggested the debates might have a particular effect on 19 percent of the electorate who were undecided or susceptible to changing their minds.

Source: Xinhua