President's rating falls to new lows in state
POLL: WAR DRIVING DOWN APPROVAL, EVEN AMONG GOP
By Jim Puzzanghera
Mercury News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - President Bush's job-approval rating in California has hit a new low, dragged down by growing discontent over Iraq, particularly among his fellow Republicans, according to a Field Poll released today.
Bush's popularity slipped to 34 percent, down seven points from the previous Field survey, in February. His rating now rivals the low marks earned by former presidents Nixon and Carter and Bush's father near the end of their presidencies. Bush has 3 1/2 years remaining in his term.
The lowest approval rating in the 44 years that the Field Poll has been measuring presidential popularity in the state was 24 percent for Nixon in August 1974, shortly before he resigned because of the Watergate scandal, said Mark DiCamillo, the poll's director.
The president continues to be less popular in the Bay Area than anyplace else in the state. Twenty-two percent of area respondents approve of his job performance, down from 31 percent in February. Bush is most popular in the Southern California areas outside Los Angeles County, with a 43 percent approval rating, down slightly from 44 percent in the earlier poll.
``Voters are down-rating him on the economy. Voters think the nation's going in the wrong direction, and voters are really becoming negative about his handling of the war,'' DiCamillo said. ``Usually the formula for high job ratings is peace and prosperity. Well, we don't have either of those, according to Californians.''
The poll of 491 adults was conducted June 13-19 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
Bush's tumble in the Field Poll mirrors a recent downward trend nationally. Polls released this month put his approval rating at between 42 and 48 percent. The continuing violence in Iraq has helped fuel those ratings, with a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll released Monday finding that 39 percent favor the war in Iraq, down from 47 percent in March.
Last week, Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., who had been a strong backer of the Iraq war, co-sponsored legislation calling for Bush to start bringing troops home from Iraq by Oct. 1, 2006. And Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld during a congressional hearing that public support for the war in heavily Republican South Carolina ``has turned.''
``I don't think it's a blip on the radar screen,'' Graham said.
Bush and the Iraq war consistently have been less popular in California. Bush lost the state to John Kerry by nine percentage points in the 2004 election; for almost 18 months the president's approval rating in California has not climbed above 43 percent.
Bush's tumble is largely because of Iraq. Twenty-eight percent of Californians approve of his handling of the situation there, down from 34 percent in February.
Democrats remain strongly opposed to Bush's performance on Iraq, giving him a 10 percent approval rating, down from 13 percent in February. The drop-off was larger among independents and third-party supporters: Approval of Bush's handling of Iraq fell to 25 percent, a 10-point drop in four months.
But more significant, Bush has lost ground with Republicans. While 73 percent approved of his handling of Iraq in February, that support has eroded to 62 percent in the latest poll.
``What you're seeing in this poll is frustration. Even the president's strongest supporters need to be reminded why it made sense to go to war and remove Saddam Hussein from power,'' said Dan Schnur, a California Republican consultant. ``That's why the next several days of events are particularly important to the president.''
After weeks of focusing on Social Security and other domestic issues, Bush will meet with new Iraqi Prime minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari at the White House today and will give a major speech on Iraq next week.
``We're doing what we believe is right. We're convinced it's right. We're convinced that, in fact, we'll achieve our objectives,'' Vice President Dick Cheney said in an interview with CNN on Thursday. ``And, frankly, we don't pay a lot of attention to the polls.''
Schnur said Democrats probably aren't going to change their opinion on Iraq, but ``Republicans and independents who had been supporters of the war can be brought back if they're reminded regularly why they supported the war in the first place.''
Bush's overall rating remains high among Republicans, with 71 percent approving of his performance, down from 76 percent in February. His overall number among Democrats dropped from 16 percent approval in February to 11 percent now. Independents held steady at 30 percent.
Bush saw his performance on the economy drop slightly, from 39 percent in February to 36 percent.
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