Two polls out Tuesday suggest Gore is behind Bush by 9 points, half of the 18-point deficit to George W. Bush in a tracking poll at the end of the GOP convention.

Democrat Gore had an edge on key campaign issues like the economy, Social Security and health care in a Los Angeles Times poll released Tuesday. But Republican Bush held a double-digit lead on the questions of likability and leadership.

A recent poll, by CNN-USA Today-Gallup, suggests that a candidate's stand on issues is now seen as more important, by a 10-point margin, than leadership skills and vision. For much of the year, leadership skills were valued more than where a candidate stood on the issues.

Democratic pollster Celinda Lake said it's important for Democrats to shift the focus of the election to issues, instead of personality. Gore is viewed as stronger than Bush on issues.

"This is one of the central goals of the convention, and it's already happening," she said.

Ray Sullivan, a Bush campaign spokesman, said the Texas governor "offers strong leadership and strong positions on the issues."

The increased emphasis on issues has not yet translated into an advantage for Gore however, said Frank Newport, executive editor of the Gallup poll.

"We have not seen a shift toward Gore in our poll," he said, referring to the 16-point lead Bush held among likely voters in the CNN-USA Today-Gallup survey released last Friday.

One problem for Gore is the public's intensely mixed feelings about President Clinton, who delivered his farewell address to the convention Monday night.

Six in 10 said Clinton deserves credit for the good economy, and nine in 10 said the economy is doing well. About four in 10 said Gore deserves credit for the economy.

But Clinton is unpopular, with six in 10 of those surveyed saying they dislike him personally.

While poll results have ranged from a dead heat among registered voters to the 16-point lead among likely voters in the Gallup poll, several surveys have suggested Bush has a lead ranging from about 9 points among registered voters to a slightly higher margin among likely voters.

The Times poll had Bush ahead 49-38 in a four-way matchup, roughly the same as polling by the television networks and ICR, a polling firm in Media, Pa. When the Bush-Dick Cheney ticket is matched against Gore and Joseph Lieberman, the margin was 49 percent to 43 percent.

The Voter.com-Battleground tracking poll released Tuesday showed Bush at 47 percent, Gore at 38 percent, Buchanan at 1 percent and Nader at 4 percent. The poll of 1,000 likely voters was taken Monday and Tuesday and had an error margin of 3 percentage points.

Gore led on handling Social Security-Medicare, the economy,and health care, as well as on having a better grasp of the issues overall. Bush led on providing a strong military defense and was tied with Gore on the issues of education, gun control and abortion.

The Times poll of 1,227 registered voters was taken Friday through Sunday and has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.