The Bush economy gets a 31% rating from independents. But Elaine Chow says jobs are coming along any minute now as a result of Bush policies.... and she has an MBA... <gg>
Bush Shaky With Independents; May Be Trouble In '04 Election
b>More than two-thirds (68%) blame Bush's economic policies for the weak job market. Just two in five think Bush's economic policies will improve the situation.
Bush doesn't have to worry about a Republican challenger, but a surging Howard Dean might claim more independents than Bush can afford.
Take Bush's handling of Iraq.
Republican support for Bush on Iraq has stayed around 90% since April, but independent support peaked at 63% in May, and dropped to 47% in July - a loss of 16 points.
Democratic support for Bush on Iraq dropped 20 points, from 50% in May to 30% in July.
Overall, Bush's support on Iraq lost 13 points, dropping from 67% in May to 54% in July. Independents and Democrats accounted for all of that movement.
Bush fares even worse with independents on his handling of the economy.
From March to July, independents giving Bush high marks on the economy averaged less than 33%. Republicans averaged 72% - better than twice the independent rate. Democrats averaged 20%.
Last month, Bush's rating on the economy surged to 76% among Republicans, but fell to 31% among independents. With Democrats, it held steady at 18%.
Overall, independents agree a lot more with Democrats than Republicans on Bush. They were 13 points away from the mean Democrat rating, but 45 points away from Republicans.
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