PHILLY.COM: Poll: Pa. falling out of favor with the president
Laura,
Thanks for the Krugman link. I want him to be the next Secretary of the Treasury and bring some sanity to Washington. :)
******
Here's an interesting hint that Bush is going to be in big trouble in 2004. He's starting to lose the "battleground" states:
philly.com
Poll: Pa. falling out of favor with the president
By RON GOLDWYN
goldwyr@phillynews.com
President Bush's popularity in Pennsylvania has dipped by almost one-quarter since April and his prospects for re-election have softened, according to the latest Daily News/Fox Philadelphia Keystone Poll.
The president's popularity is actually higher than his job approval rating, which has fallen into negative territory in a reflection of his poll standing nationwide.
Asked if Bush "has done a good enough job to deserve re-election," 44 percent said "yes," 48 percent "no." The 4 percent deficit matches his 2000 margin of defeat in Pennsylvania to Al Gore.
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who seeks re-election to a fifth term next year, holds substantial leads over little-known Republican and Democratic opponents even though his job approval rating is only 42 percent.
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., a lightning rod of controversy for seeking to outlaw homosexuality earlier this year, is viewed favorably by 46 percent - virtually unchanged over the past four years. His term extends through 2006.
The president has lost ground in most polls across the country as deaths and difficulties have mounted in postwar Iraq and the economy has struggled.
"Pennsylvania still remains to be won by Bush or by his Democratic opponent," said poll director G. Terry Madonna. "It's a tossup, competitive like Pennsylvania always is. But he's obviously weaker than six months ago in the state."
In April, as the United States achieved military success in Iraq, Bush was viewed favorably by 63 percent of Pennsylvanians and unfavorably by 25 percent.
In the recent poll those figures, which reflect the president's popularity, were 49-40.
On job approval, Bush was rated as doing an excellent or good job by 47 percent, but only a fair or poor job by 53 percent. The comparable figures in April were 64-34.
Bush's job performance rating varies sharply around the state: 54 percent in the Southwest, 59 percent in central Pennsylvania, just 45 percent in the Philadelphia suburbs and 19 percent in the city itself.
Specter was viewed favorably by 46 percent and unfavorably by 26 percent in the latest poll. That's barely any change from the 46-23 percent in the April poll.
Specter's job approval numbers waned slightly, from 47 to 42 percent over the same span.
Specter leads announced GOP challenger U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey 49-18 percent for next spring's primary, and leads U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel, the leading Democratic challenger, 47-25 percent in a potential general election matchup.
"Specter's support is broadly based around the state," said Madonna. "He's not a regional figure, he's a state figure. But his numbers are in the mushy middle with the other politicians in the state."
The poll of 719 residents taken from Oct. 27-Nov. 16 debunked the idea that Pennsylvanians are part of an "angry voter" trend that helped recall Gov. Gray Davis in California. Only 12 percent said they were "angry voters" while 55 percent opposed adding a recall provision to the state's constitution.
The poll has a margin of error of 3.7 percent. |
