Poll gives Clinton big lead

WASHINGTON (Reuter) - The Democratic candidate, Bill Clinton, would win 57 per cent of the vote to President George Bush's 32 per cent if the presidential elections were held now, Cable News Network (CNN) said yesterday.

Only 29 per cent of voters approved of the way Mr Bush was running the country, the lowest level of his presidency, a CNN poll, conducted on Monday, showed. In January, Mr Bush's approval rating was 46 per cent. The poll was conducted for CNN by Gallup.

Mr Clinton is taking a day off from the presidential campaign to attend the funeral of a friend and key Democratic fundraiser, C Victor Raiser II, who died in an air crash in Alaska last Thursday with his son.