Going Gore's Way
Going into the campaign home stretch, the race for the White House remains a tight one, according to the latest CBS News/New York Times poll. Forty-six percent of registered voters say they will vote for the Democratic ticket of Al Gore and Joe Lieberman, while 43 percent say they'll support Republicans George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.
As close as the race seems to be, when you dig into the poll's numbers, it's the Gore campaign that will find most of the good news, reports CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer. The poll shows that Bush's efforts to raise questions about Gore's character have apparently failed, and voters are expressing a growing preference for Gore's positions on the issues that matter most to them.
The poll also shows that Medicare, health care and education are the issues that voters are most concerned about, and on those issues the signs for Gore are impressive.
By a wide margin, 62 percent to 41 percent, voters believe Gore is the candidate most likely to make health care affordable. By a similar margin, they believe he is more likely to reduce the cost of prescription drugs for the elderly, and by a smaller margin they prefer his approach on education.
All of these are issues that traditionally matter to women, so it's no surprise that this poll, like others, shows Gore with a growing lead among women voters. He now holds a 10-point advantage among women, more than enough to offset the five-point lead Bush has with men.
Bush does better on the military and taxes. Voters agree with his criticism that the military has grown weaker under President Clinton and they think Bush is more likely to cut taxes - but these are clearly back-burner issues with many voters.
Only six percent of voters see taxes as a top priority; even fewer, three percent cite defense as a major concern.
As for character, the Bush team has spent considerable time trying to raise questions about Gore's credibility in an effort to tie him to Bill Clinton, but apparently that effort isn't working.
On questions of trust, overall favorability and handling things in time of crisis, areas where Bush previously scored best, voters now rate the two men about equal.