US: He may have won the three presidential debates, but the latest poll shows Democratic candidate Senator John Kerry has by no means sealed the deal.
The daily Reuters/Zogby tracking poll - the first to include voters' opinions after Tuesday's final debate in Arizona - shows President Bush opening up a four-point lead over Senator Kerry.
President Bush now leads Mr Kerry 48-44, having recovered three points in his support level.
A tracking poll the previous day showed Mr Bush with a one point lead over Mr Kerry.
The Democratic challenger yesterday campaigned in the swing state of Wisconsin, where he attacked Mr Bush's record on jobs and accused him of favouring special interests with his tax breaks.
His campaign aides said Mr Kerry is preparing a series of speeches on the economy that would form his "closing arguments". Supporters at his rallies carried brooms to signify Kerry's "clean sweep" of the debates.
President Bush campaigned in Nevada, which has shown unexpected support for Mr Kerry and is now regarded as a key state.
"The good news for the president is that he has improved his performance among the small group of undecideds," said pollster John Zogby. "Nearly a quarter now say that he deserves to be re-elected, up from 18 per cent in our last poll."
The poll shows only 6 per cent of likely voters are undecided.
The new tracking poll showed that Mr Bush has drawn level with Mr Kerry among Catholics and women voters, and is moving slightly ahead with young voters, while Mr Kerry still holds a solid lead among seniors.
The tracking polls combine the results of three consecutive nights of polling.
The survey showed independent candidate Mr Ralph Nader with the support of 1.1 per cent of likely voters.
Guardian Service adds: US soldiers have far greater trust in President Bush as commander-in-chief than in Mr Kerry, preferring the incumbent by a nearly three-to-one margin, a poll showed yesterday.
The University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey, which contacted 655 members of the US military on active duty and their families, revealed far stronger support for the Bush administration than among the civilian population, even among Republican civilians.
Troops were far more positive about the war in Iraq and the economy - attitudes that could tip the vote in several key states. Florida, for example, has more than 150,000 registered voters in the military, and US soldiers tend to vote in far greater numbers than civilians.
Some 69 per cent of the country's 2.3 million active-duty troops and reservists voted in the 2000 elections - compared with an overall turnout rate of 51 per cent - and all indications point to an even higher rate next month.
A total of 94 per cent of the troops in the Annenberg sample said they intended to vote.
The survey, conducted around the time of the first Bush-Kerry debate, which gave the challenger a boost, did not directly ask soldiers their voting preferences, which is illegal.
However, the troops made it clear they preferred Mr Bush. Some 69 per cent saw him as a better commander-in-chief than Mr Kerry, who was backed by 24 per cent of those polled. Mr Bush also scored better among civilians in a companion poll, but only by 50 per cent to 41 per cent.