Dean's gaffes yield dividends for Clark

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Wesley Clark has gained ground on front-runner Howard Dean in the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, apparently the result of Mr. Dean's recent gaffes.

Mr. Clark has cut the former Vermont governor's lead among Democratic voters from 15 percentage points to four since mid-December, according to a poll released yesterday by USA Today, CNN and Gallup.

Republican strategist David Winston said Mr. Dean had "made some inroads into Clark voters, but his recent statements have caused those voters to return back to Clark." Mr. Winston pointed to Mr. Dean's comments that Saddam Hussein's capture did not make America safer, that the presidential hopeful would not prejudge Osama bin Laden until the terrorist mastermind is put on trial, and that the Democratic Leadership Council is the Republican section of the Democratic Party.

The poll, conducted Friday to Monday among 465 Democratic or Democratic-leaning registered voters, shows Mr. Dean with 24 percent support and Mr. Clark with 20 percent -- a change from the group's Dec. 15-16 poll, in which Mr. Clark had 12 percent support and Mr. Dean had 27 percent.

The four percentage point gap between Mr. Dean and Mr. Clark is a statistical tie -- within the five percentage point margin of error.

Democratic strategist Mark S. Mellman said national polls do not hold much meaning for a primary, but he did note Mr. Dean's increase in unfavorable ratings in the latest poll. Among all voters nationally, the poll found that 39 percent had an unfavorable opinion of him, compared with 24 percent in a November poll.

Even among Democrats, Mr. Dean's negative rating has doubled from 10 percent in November to 22 percent, although his favorable ratings also increased, from 36 percent in November to 45 percent.

"Negative opinions of him are building both nationally and among Democrats," Mr. Mellman said. "I think people are paying attention to the misstatements."

But Democratic strategist Morris Reid, a Clinton administration official, predicted that Mr. Dean will win the nomination and attributed Mr. Clark's boost in the latest poll to timing. Mr. Reid said the poll was conducted when the country was on high security alert and that Mr. Clark, a former Army general, is the stronger candidate on security issues. Mr. Reid predicted that the next big poll will show Mr. Dean pulling further ahead again.