In the months since the Congressional elections, President Bush has lost substantial support among members of his own party, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.
Mr. Bush’s approval rating dropped 13 percentage points since last fall among Republicans, 65 percent of whom now say they approve of the way he is handling his job as president, compared with 78 percent last October.
Over all, Mr. Bush’s job approval remains at one of its lowest points, with 29 percent of all Americans saying they approve of the way he is doing his job, compared with 34 percent at the end of October. Sixty-one percent disapproved, compared with 58 percent in October, within the margin of sampling error.
Twenty-three percent of those polled approved of the way Mr. Bush is dealing with the situation in Iraq. Twenty-five percent approved of his handling of foreign policy.
Even the president’s campaign against terrorism, long his signature issue, is seen positively by only 40 percent of those polled, while 53 percent disapprove.
Three-quarters of those polled say things are going badly for the United States in Iraq, and only 23 percent say the efforts to bring stability and order to Iraq are going well.
Seventy percent, including 52 percent of Republicans, say there is not much the United States military can do to reduce the sectarian fighting in Iraq.
Over all, 23 percent of the public say the country is going in the right direction and 68 percent see it as “on the wrong track.”
The nationwide telephone poll was conducted Friday through Tuesday with 1,281 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points. The margin of sampling error for Republicans is plus or minus five percentage points.
President Bush's approval ratings dropped 13 points among Republicans since last fall. His overall public approval rating is at 29 percent. Three-quarters of Americans polled say things things are going badly for the United States in Iraq. These poll numbers are showing that we're getting close to the hard-lined conservative base of President Bush's support. Bush has lost the support of Democrats, moderates, centrists, and independents. Now he is losing support among the moderate Republicans. We might just see President Bush's job approval ratings drop to around 25 percent by September or October. And if these poll numbers stay consistent through 2008, then the Republicans are going to be in major electoral trouble.
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