Nearly Half Don’t See Gore as Good President, Poll Says

WASHINGTON — Nearly half of the respondents in a new poll said they did not believe Vice President Al Gore would make a good president if he were elected in 2000.

The Time magazine/CNN poll said when participants were asked to choose exclusively from Democratic contenders who might run for president in the next election, 41% said they would vote for Gore.

However, when asked if they felt Al Gore would make a good president, 49% said they did not think he would. Gore faces ethics questions after reports he had solicited campaign funds by telephone from his White House office.

Running a distant second to Gore in the Democratic field was the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who got 15% of the vote, and former Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey came in third with 8%. The poll, which surveyed 1,018 adult Americans by phone, has a 3.1-percentage-point margin of error.