US President George W. Bush heads into the first presidential campaign debate with an eight-percentage-point lead over his Democratic rival John Kerry among likely voters, a poll released Monday showed.

The CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows that among likely voters, Bush's support rate was 52 percent, compared with 44 percent for Senator Kerry and 3 percent for independent Ralph Nader. That result was within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

In the broader category of registered voters, 53 percent supported Bush, compared with 42 percent for Kerry and 3 percent for Nader. That question had the same margin of error.

The poll was taken from Friday through Sunday, less than one week before the first face-to-face debate between Bush and Kerry, which will be held in Miami, Florida, focusing on foreign affairs.

Asked which man would better handle the situation in Iraq, 55 percent said Bush and 41 percent said Kerry. Two months ago, they were tied on that question. The poll also showed Bush's job approval rating at 54 percent, the highest since January.

It found increased public approval for the president's handlingof the economy, terrorism, the situation in Iraq and foreign affairs.

Surprisingly, the poll showed that 52 percent of those surveyedsaid they believe Bush would better handle relations with other countries, compared with 44 percent for Kerry, although Bush has been widely charged by his critics with alienating the world community through unilateralism and Kerry vows to repair all thosedamaged relations.

Source: Xinhua