e Buchanan in the three-way contest, 62% chose Bush in a two-way match up; only 30%chose Gore. Within his party Bush maintains his big lead in popular support for the GOP nomination. When askedin an open-ended format to name any of the Republican presidential contenders, fully 54% ofAmericans and six-in-ten Republicans can identify Bush. Only 16% of the public and 22% ofRepublicans can name Elizabeth Dole. The names of the rest of the field are recalled by about 10%of Republicans or fewer. Bush is the first choice nominee of 56% of Republicans and Independents who lean Republican, and21% say he is their second choice. These numbers are largely unchanged from the 60% and 19%,respectively, who voiced support for Bush in July. There are no signs that any other GOP candidatehas begun to break through at the national level. Bush'sclosest competition comes from Elizabeth Dole: 15% ofRepublican voters say she is their first choice, 28% makeher their second choice. None of the other GOP hopefulsreach double digit support. Forbes and McCain stand at5% and 6%, while Quayle, Keyes, Hatch and Bauer allfall at 5% or below. While Bush remains highly popular in and out of his party,the Texas governor's image has been tarnished in recentmonths. More Americans now describe Bush in negativeterms than did in March. Then, 36% used positive wordsor phrases to describe Governor Bush, 12% volunteerednegative descriptors. Now, while positive descriptions stilldominate, 21% use negative terms. Fewer now describeBush in neutral terms. Hands Off Personal Lives In the midst of controversy over press coverage of Bush's past, the public draws some clear linesabout what is fair game for news media scrutiny. Out of 13 hypothetical stories about presidentialcandidates' personal lives, clear majorities believe the press should almost always report on only fourof them. Nearly three-quarters of the public (71%) believe that if a candidate is known to havephysically abused...