WASHINGTON - Democrat Wesley Clark, in the presidential race for less than a week, is tied with President Bush in a head-to-head match-up, according to a poll that shows several Democratic candidates strongly challenging the Republican incumbent.
Clark, a retired Army general, garnered 49 percent support to Bush's 46 percent, which is essentially a tie given the poll's margin of error. The CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll was conducted Sept. 19-21, beginning two days after Clark announced he would become the 10th Democratic candidate for the party's nomination.
Several other Democrats who have been in the race for months also were close to Bush in direct match-ups. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut also were tied with the president, while Bush held a slight lead over former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri.
In the head-to-head confrontations, it was Kerry at 48 percent to Bush's 47 percent; and Bush's 48 percent to Lieberman's 47 percent. Bush held a slight lead over Dean, 49-45 percent, and had a similar advantage over Gephardt.
Separately, Clark led all Democratic candidates in the survey released yesterday that showed Bush far more vulnerable.
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The Associated Press
