Poll shows Gore losing PR battle

WASHINGTON -- The majority of Americans who voted Nov. 7 say they
think George W. Bush beat Al Gore in the presidential election, and far
more Gore voters than Bush voters have doubts their man won the
now-deadlocked race, a new

Portrait of America poll reveals.

In addition, voters give Gore lower marks than Bush for handling the post-election crisis.

The results of the Nov. 12 survey of 1,000 likely voters is bad news for Gore, who is trying to garner public support as he challenges Bush's de facto win in Florida. If vote recounts confirm his slim lead, the state would give Bush enough electoral votes to win the tight general election.

Fifty-three percent of all voters think Bush won the presidential race, while only 40 percent think Gore won, according to the poll by Charlotte, N.C.-based Rasmussen Research. Seven percent aren't sure.

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Just 79 percent of Gore voters think their man won the contest. That compares with a whopping 95 percent of Bush voters.

Overall, 60 percent of voters are "somewhat confident" or "very confident" that election officials will be able to confirm a true winner.

But just 28 percent are certain, the poll found, and 38 percent aren't sure the country will ever really know who won.

The findings concern poll director Scott Rasmussen. He thinks the next president, whoever he is, may have to spend more time defending his right to lead than leading.

"Only one out of four believe they'll really know who won when it's all said and done," Rasmussen told WorldNetDaily. "It's a lot of potential for cynicism and distrust."

Still, most voters have no stomach for holding more elections to settle things.

Some 54 percent oppose holding a new election in Florida, and 69 percent are against a national re-vote.

A majority of voters -- 54 percent -- say Gore and his campaign staff have done a fair or poor job of handling the confusion and uncertainty since election night. By comparison, 48 percent think Bush has done a fair or poor job, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.