Bill Clinton Leads in Polls But Margins Vary Widely

BILL CLINTON holds leads of 10 and 15 points over President Bush in two new presidential polls, while a third casts Bush ahead by seven points.

Meanwhile, findings of an AP poll indicate that most Americans believe it is likely that either Mr. Bush or Governor Clinton would raise taxes.

Clinton led Bush 53 percent to 38 percent in the Sept. 10-13 poll of 1,175 registered voters conducted by the Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press. That 15-point lead, reported Wednesday, is down from a 20-point lead in a similar poll from the same organization last month.

An NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll released Sept. 16 showed Clinton with a 10-point lead, 51 to 41, among 1,500 voters interviewed Sept. 12 to 15.

Meanwhile, a Florida poll showed Bush with a 7-point lead. Bush led Clinton 48 percent to 41 percent, with 11 percent undecided. The poll of 804 registered voters, commissioned by the Florida media, was conducted by Mason-Dixon Research Inc.

The tax poll shows people are confused about Bush's position, with 38 percent saying that he is promising no new taxes, and another 38 percent saying that he is not making a promise.

Bush has said that a 1 percentage point across-the-board reduction would be possible if Congress approved his proposed $130 billion in spending cuts. Democrats in Congress have balked at many spending cuts, and 79 percent of those polled said they viewed Bush's idea as "just politics."

If Bush is reelected, 56 percent think he will raise taxes, compared with 27 percent who think they will be unchanged and 6 percent who foresee lower taxes.

If Clinton gets into the White House, 68 percent think he'll raise taxes. Fifteen percent think their tax bill won't change, and 8 percent think it will go down.

The telephone poll of 1,002 adults was taken Sept. 11 to 15 by ICR Survey Research Group of Media, Pa. The error margin for all polls was from 3 to 4 points.