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On the eve of the second presidential debate, George W. Bush has grabbed a narrow lead over Al Gore in the seesaw race for the White House, marking the first time since before the Democratic convention that Bush has been ahead, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Bush has improved his standing over the past week on the issues of taxes and education and shows clear improvement over the past month on the politically sensitive issue of prescription drugs.

The Texas governor's gains set up another high-stakes encounter with the vice president tonight at Wake Forest University, with both candidates looking to improve their performance over last week's debate in Boston. But with Bush having picked up support, the vice president will be under clear pressure to use the event to change the dynamic of a race that remains extraordinarily close.

Gore needs to regain the advantage on issues that have traditionally favored Democrats while avoiding the problems of the first debate, when he sighed audibly and interrupted Bush's answers. Bush must deal more forcefully with foreign policy and more effectively explain some of his own proposals.

The Post-ABC News poll shows Bush leading Gore 48 percent to 45 percent in a four-way matchup among likely voters, with Green Party candidate Ralph Nader at 3 percent and Reform Party candidate Patrick J. Buchanan registering less than 1 percent. In a hypothetical two-way race, Bush leads Gore 50 percent to 46 percent.

The findings show a small swing toward Bush since the Texas governor and the vice president held their first debate Oct. 3. A Post-ABC News poll taken just before that debate showed Gore leading Bush by 2 percentage points. The movement toward Bush is consistent with the findings of a series of national polls released this week.

The Post-ABC News poll is based on telephone interviews conducted Oct. 6-9. Results for the presidential race are based on a sample of 826 likely voters. Overall, 1,457 registered voters were interviewed. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Since August, the race has shifted toward Gore and now back toward Bush, but the findings of the new Post-ABC poll and others underscore how volatile this year's election is and how difficult it has been for either candidate to gain a decisive advantage.

The results of the latest poll again found men and women differing sharply over the two major party nominees, Democrats and Republicans firmly locked down behind their nominees and independent voters up for grabs.

The two candidates will meet tonight amid signs that the race is growing increasingly negative. The Bush camp has made Gore's credibility a central issue, arguing that he can't be trusted as president. Gore's team has stepped up criticism of Bush as a candidate unfamiliar with critical issues and ill prepared to assume the presidency.

In last week's debate, Gore hammered Bush, accusing him of offering a tax plan heavily weighted toward the wealthiest Americans and arguing that his smaller plan of targeted tax cuts aimed mostly at lower- and middle-income Americans is better.

Free Your Speech :

Oct. 28, 2000: David J. Zaber Madison, Wis.

Your full of ****, you insane y-vote people. In reality George W. Bush's indifference to global warming is all the more disturbing given the new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. You are correct to say that the current inaction is Congress's fault, however. The Bush camp has already indicated that it would work against taking actions that will buffer the inevitable climate change. Mr. Bush's positions include logging more forests, drilling for more oil in sensitive ecosystems and instituting voluntary pollution-control measures. This will hardly help push Congress to craft meaningful legislation to address the problem Congress and the Bush camp should think of fighting global warming as another form of social security. Only this time, it's not just another entitlement.