I haven’t had a post devoted to polling data in a while, so I thought it’d be a good time to delve into the latest Newsweek poll numbers.
Bush’s approval ratings haven’t changed much. In fact, they haven’t changed at all since Newsweek’s Sept. 18 poll: 51 percent approve, 42 percent disapprove. Bush’s support for a second term is also at the exact same point as it was four weeks ago: 44 percent said they’d like to see Bush have another four years, while 50 percent said they wouldn’t.
Newsweek still shows Gen. Clark with the national lead among the Democratic field:
Clark — 15% (down from 16% in late-September)
Lieberman — 13% (up from 9% in late-September)
Kerry — 11% (up from 10% in late-September)
Dean — 10% (down from 12% in late-September)
Gephardt — 8% (down from 10% in late-September)
Edwards — 6% (no change from late-September)
and the other three at 5% or below
Nothing shocking here, though I continue to marvel at Edwards’ poor showing. He’s performed well in all of the debates, yet he can’t seem to break through. His 6 percent support is identical to the support he’s enjoyed in every Newsweek poll since July. (Amy Sullivan thinks Edwards may be having trouble because people are confusing him with the TV psychic of the same name. I hope that’s not the case.)
Newsweek also asked respondents my favorite question: head-to-head match-ups of Bush vs. the top Dem candidates. As in all the previous Newsweek polls, Bush maintains a lead over all his potential rivals in a hypothetical general election scenarios. But, as before, some Dems did a lot better than others.
As usual, Wesley Clark did the best, with 47% backing Bush and 43% supporting Clark — a 4-point margin. Kerry was the next best, trailing Bush by a 6-point margin. Gephardt was behind Bush by 7 points, Lieberman by 8 points, and, not surprisingly, Dean did the worst, again, trailing Bush by a 9-point margin.