Although the people of New Hampshire judged George W. Bush second best, he's still No. 1 among the nation's business leaders. A phone survey of nearly 200 CEOs of FORTUNE 500 corporations in late January reveals that the Texas governor has a commanding lead over his rivals for President. According to the poll—completed for FORTUNE prior to the New Hampshire vote—Bush clobbers the presidential field, winning support from 70% of the chief executives. That's slightly better than the 68% of CEOs who favored Bush the last time FORTUNE conducted a similar survey, in March 1999. "Most FORTUNE 500 CEOs are moderate Republicans," says Greg Martire of our polling firm, Clark Martire & Bartolomeo. "Bush's brand of 'compassionate conservatism,' fiscal conservatism, and electability has real appeal to them."
展开▼
