KNEECAPPED

Looks like things aren't going according to plan:

Polling has shown that the Clarke's assertions have resonated as more than mere Beltway sniping and that voters are beginning to question the president's handling of terrorism.

A Newsweek poll released Saturday found that public approval of Bush's handling of terrorism and homeland security had eroded, with his approval rating on those issues dropping to 57 percent from 65 percent just over a month ago. It was 70 percent two months ago. However, 65 percent said Clarke's testimony had not affected their opinion of Bush.

Officials in both parties agreed that if Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) were able to pull even on those issues, the president's prospects would dim considerably. But Bush-Cheney campaign officials expressed relief that the Newsweek poll, taken Thursday and Friday, found Kerry had failed to capitalize on Bush's woes. Bush's overall approval rating was statistically unchanged, at 49 percent, and he remained in a dead heat with Kerry. The poll, of 1,002 adults, had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

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