Bush ratings drop to new lows in poll
Thu Nov 3,11:46 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For the first time in his presidency, a majority of Americans questioned
President George W. Bush's personal integrity as his approval ratings on key issues fell to new lows in an ABC News/Washington Post poll published on Thursday.
Fewer than half -- 40 percent -- said Bush was honest and trustworthy. Separately, 67 percent rated his handling of ethics in government negatively and fewer than half called him a strong leader, another first, according to the poll.
Sixty percent of Americans disapproved of his overall job performance, which ABC said was "a level unseen since recession chased his father (
George Bush) from office." That compared with a 39 percent approval rating, the poll said.
Even in his own party, just under half of Republicans -- 49 percent -- now strongly approve of Bush's job performance, a 22-point drop from the start of the year when Republicans gave Bush a 71 percent job approval rating, ABC said.
Bush has contended with a number of political setbacks in recent months, including growing concern about the
Iraq war and rising casualties, soaring gasoline prices, the slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina, and the indictment of Vice President
Dick Cheney's former aide, Lewis Libby, in the
CIA leak investigation.
Fifty-two percent of those polled said the CIA leak case indicated broader problems with ethics in the administration. Fifty-nine percent in the ABC News/Washington Post poll said Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, who remains under investigation, should resign.
According to the poll, Bush also lost ground in support for his handling of the Iraq war and the economy.
Fifty-five percent said the Bush administration intentionally misled the public in making its case for war, up 12 points from last spring, the poll found.
On Iraq, 60 percent said the war was not worth fighting, up 7 points since August to another high, and 73 percent called the level of U.S. casualties "unacceptable."
Bush scored a 61 percent disapproval rating for his handling of the economy. Sixty-five percent said the economy was in bad shape and 68 percent said the nation was on the "wrong track," the most since 1996, the poll found.
The poll of 1,202 adults was conducted from Sunday to Wednesday and had an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points. |
