ASHINGTON - American voters see honesty as the most important trait for a presidential candidate, according to an Associated Press poll. The voters are about evenly split on whether Al Gore or George W. Bush is more honest.
Four in 10 voters now pick honesty ahead of such traits as caring about people like them, showing strong leadership, standing up for beliefs, and having a vision for the future. In a November AP poll, one-third picked honesty, which ranked first at that time as well.
In the latest poll, conducted for the AP by ICR of Media, Pa., about a third picked Bush as more honest and a third picked Gore. Another third said neither candidate or they didn't know.
The earlier poll, taken before the primaries, did not ask people to compare the honesty of Bush and Gore.
The Monica Lewinsky affair and President Clinton's impeachment process sent the message to voters that ''you can't believe what politicians are saying,'' said political scientist Merle Black of Emory University in Atlanta. ''Now they want someone to tell it like it is.''
When Clinton was running for president in 1992, voters placed honesty near the top of the list of most important characteristics, along with leadership abilities and the candidate's stand on issues.
But in the latest poll, honesty, at 39 percent, was far in front. Second was caring about people like them, at 17 percent, and then leadership at 14 percent.
The poll showed the overall race is close, with 40 percent for Bush and 39 percent for Gore, among registered voters. Other recent polls of registered voters also have shown the race is close, but polls that measured only likely voters have given Bush an advantage.
Bush, Republican governor of Texas, was favored over Gore in the AP poll on strong leadership skills, 49 percent to 32 percent, and as a candidate who stands up for what he believes, 44 percent to 38 percent.
Gore, the Democratic vice president, was seen by more voters as caring about people like them, 44 percent to 34 percent, and as a candidate with a vision for the future, 46 percent to 37 percent.
The telephone poll of 798 registered voters was taken June 21-25. It has an error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
