NEW YORK, Sept 18: President George Bush's lead over Democratic rival John Kerry widened slightly over the last week, according to a CBS/New York Times poll released on Saturday.

Mr Bush now leads Mr Kerry 50-41 per cent, a nine point margin, up from last week's seven point margin of 49-42 per cent, the poll said.

Independent candidate Ralph Nader's support stood at three per cent, up from one per cent last week. Nader, who contributed to Democrat Al Gore's defeat in Florida four years ago, won a court battle on Friday to gain a place on the presidential ballot in that state.

Seven per cent of Republicans plan to cross party lines to support Mr Kerry, the poll said, while 20 per cent of self-identified liberals said they planned to support Mr Bush.

Support for Mr Kerry is softening even among his own supporters. Just 40 per cent say they strongly favor him, down from 45 per cent last week. By contrast, 63 per cent of Bush supporters said they strongly favor him, the same number as last week.

Voters seemed to be gaining confidence in Mr Bush's national security abilities, and losing faith in Mr Kerry's.

Fifty per cent had "a lot" of confidence Mr Bush could protect the country from terrorism, up from 43 per cent last month. Just 26 per cent expressed such confidence in Mr Kerry, down from 32 per cent in August.-AFP