POLITICAL BRIEFING

POLL WATCH--As Bush’s unfavorable ratings have kept climbing, his aides have found solace in Bill Clinton’s being plagued by similarly high negative poll numbers. . . . GOP strategists also insist their man is better positioned than his prospective challenger to reverse the trend because Bush’s negative ratings are based on job performance--which an upturn in the economy could dissolve--while Clinton’s are rooted in questions about his character. Those types of doubts “stay with people for a long time,” argues Bush pollster Fred Steeper. Another consolation for the Republican side: According to Steeper, all Bush needs to do is hold his own with Clinton on the domestic policy debate and Bush’s foreign policy strength will carry him back to the White House.