TIME/CNN POLL . . . POWELL'S MOMENT

If the 1996 presidential election were held today, Colin Powell, running on the GOP ticket, would beat Bill Clinton 46 percent to 38 percent, according to a new TIME/CNN poll. If he ran as an Independent, Powell would also come out on top in a three-way race that included Bob Dole. (Powell would draw 33 percent, Clinton 30 percent and Dole 27 percent. In June, a similar poll gave Powell 29 percent.) Amid publicity over Powell's upcoming memoir, more than half of 1,000 Americans surveyed this week (53 percent) said they wanted him to run for President, up from 44 percent in June. The majority (45 percent) prefer that he run as an Independent.