Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry would defeat President George W. Bush if the general election were held today, a USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll published on Tuesday showed.  

The survey, conducted from last Thursday to Sunday, found Kerry, a Democratic Senator from Massachusetts, would defeat Bush 53 percent to 46 percent, a lead outside the poll's margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

North Carolina Senator John Edwards, another Democratic candidate, would edge Bush out at 49 percent to 48 percent, a statistical tie. The president would best former Vermont governor Howard Dean by seven percentage points and retired General Wesley Clark by three percentage points.

The results reflects the battering Bush has received from his Democratic contenders for months and the questions raised over the past week about the administration's rationale for going to war with Iraq, a USA Today report said.

The president's job approval rating, meanwhile, dipped below 50 percent for the first time in his presidency, to 49 percent. His job approval rating was 60 percent in a poll taken on Jan. 5.

Meanwhile, Bush's disapproval rating rose a record 48 percent, with approval ratings for handling the economy, Iraq and health care all falling to near-record lows.

Support for going to war with Iraq also dipped to below 50 percent, to 49 percent. More than four in 10 Americans said the administration deliberately misled the public about whether Iraq had the banned weapons, according to the survey, which canvassed 1,001 adults.

(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2004)