CAMPAIGN ’88 : Dukakis Holds Slim Lead in Latest Poll

Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis maintained a slim lead over Vice President George Bush in a nationwide poll published Monday, although the likely Democratic nominee has lost some ground in the way voters perceive him.

The CBS News-New York Times poll found Dukakis running ahead, 47% to 39%, among the random sampling of 947 registered voters surveyed by telephone last week. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

In May, the same poll found a 10-point lead for Dukakis (49% to 39%).

Of respondents to the new poll, 28% expressed a favorable view of Dukakis, compared to 38% in May, and 21% had unfavorable impressions of him, up from 14%. Many said they still had formed no opinion of him.

Bush, however, did not benefit from the change. The probable Republican nominee’s own favorable rating was 26%, down from 33%, and his unfavorable rating was 31%. In May, it was 35%.