THE US: The two Democratic candidates fighting it out for the party's nomination for president would both trounce Republican President George Bush if the election were held today, according to a new poll, reports Conor O'Clery in New York
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, who yesterday received the important endorsement of the AFL-CIO group of unions, would enjoy a 55-43 per cent victory over the president, according to the USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll, whereas two weeks ago he trailed Mr Bush by 48-49.
North Carolina Senator John Edwards would beat Mr Bush by an astonishing 54-44 per cent, according to the poll, which has a 3 per cent margin of error. Mr Bush's approval rating remains almost unchanged at 51 per cent.
The survey reflects the high media profile of both senators as they compete for support in the primary race, and the continued decline of trust in Mr Bush, who has been assailed most recently by questions over his National Guard service and exaggerated White House predictions about job creation.
Among Democrats, 65 per cent said they preferred Mr Kerry and 19 per cent Mr Edwards.
The Massachusetts senator has won 15 of 17 states in the primary contest and has accumulated 613 of the 2,162 delegates needed for selection by the Democratic Convention in Boston in July.
With jobs emerging as one of the big issues in the Democratic campaign, the White House finds itself struggling to limit the damage from an overly optimistic forecast that the economy would create 2.6 million jobs this year - a million more than that predicted by most economists.
In a general retreat from that figure, contained in a White House economic report signed by Mr Bush, the chairman of his re-election campaign, Mr Marc Racicot, said that it was only a "stated goal".
The report also prompted an uproar over its statement that outsourcing jobs would benefit the economy, leading both Mr Kerry and Mr Edwards to call for the "outsourcing" of the Bush administration.
Mr Kerry got the endorsement of the AFL-CIO at a ceremony in Washington yesterday where union president Mr John Sweeney said "the time has come to unite behind one man, one leader, one candidate."
The AFL-CIO is made up of 64 unions and is capable of mobilising many of its 13 million members to vote for Senator Kerry.
"Today we stand united in a common cause and that common cause is not just to defeat George Bush, but it is to put our country back on track, on the road of prosperity, the road of fairness, the road of jobs," Mr Kerry said.
The AFL-CIO backing comes despite the Massachusetts senator's support for free trade agreements which union leaders blame for lost jobs overseas.
The president of the teamsters' union, Mr James Hoffa, said Mr Kerry had the best chance of beating President Bush.
"He might not be there yet, but I think the more he campaigns, the more he realises this entire election is going to come down to jobs," Mr Hoffa said.
The Massachusetts senator is also to get the important endorsement of Georgia Congressman John Lewis, a civil rights veteran who could swing voters in the state's March 2nd primary.
Senator Edwards yesterday called trade "a moral issue" in a speech at New York's Columbia University, where he received a rapturous reception from 750 students.
"There is no question that our current trade policies are good for the profits of multinational corporations," he said.
"They are good for some people in the financial sector here in New York City - not all, but some."
Senator Edwards was in New York to raise money and capitalise on his unexpectedly strong showing against Mr Kerry in Tuesday's primary election in Wisconsin.