NEW YORK, Sept 23: A new opinion poll shows that President George W. Bush may lose to a Democratic contender if attacks on American troops in Iraq did not stop and the US economy continued to fall.

A USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll on Tuesday shows that Gen (retd) Wesley Clark would narrowly defeat Mr Bush if the elections were held now.

The survey, conducted Friday through Sunday, shows troubles for Mr Bush and the nine Democrats who have spent as much as a year campaigning to get party nomination.

Gen Clark entered the race last week.

President Bush’s job-approval rating fell to 50 per cent, the lowest of his presidency. For the first time, the president trailed potential rivals, Gen Clark and Massachusetts Sen John Kerry.

As many as 49 per cent of respondents said they would vote for Gen Clark if the election was held today compared to 46 per cent for Mr Bush while 48 per cent said they would vote for Sen Kerry compared to 47 per cent for Mr Bush.

Among the Democrats, Gen Clark leads the field with 22 per cent of Democrats who are registered to vote.