President Clinton may have had a rough year, but a new poll suggests he would win re-election against either Bob Dole or Jack Kemp, and in three-way contests with either of the Republicans plus Ross Perot.
The poll of 1,000 voters also showed his job approval rating had climbed 10 points since August, to 57 percent.By contrast, Perot was in eclipse - down from 47 percent who said they had a favorable impression of him in August to 33 percent in this survey, conducted Dec. 6-8 and released Wednesday. A full 55 percent said they had an unfavorable impression of the independent former presidential candidate.
Voters in the survey overwhelmingly cited crime as the nation's No. 1 problem. But despite winter crime offensives by Clinton and congressional Republicans, the poll found that neither party has an edge on the issue so far.
Of voters who cited crime as their top concern, 32 percent said the GOP was better able to deal with this issue; 31 percent preferred the Democrats; and 22 percent said they trusted neither party to handle it effectively.
If Clinton were pitted against Dole in a presidential race, the poll found the president would get 50 percent to Dole's 39 percent; 11 percent of voters said they were undecided. Kemp, the former congressman, pro football quarterback and housing secretary under President Bush, would lose a matchup with Clinton 49-37 percent, with 15 percent undecided.
Clinton led the two Republicans even when Perot was added to the mix.