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Bush's Approval Rating Stuck
at 36%, Newsweek Poll Shows President George W. Bush's approval rating stands at 36 percent as voters expressed anger over the continued war in Iraq, according to a poll released today by Newsweek magazine. The overall approval rating matches his standing in November, a record low for his presidency, and compares with 40 percent at the end of September, 2005, the magazine reported. Less than half, 44 percent of those polled, approved of how he's handling homeland security and terrorism issues compared with 57 percent a year ago. The president's misfortune has translated into good news for Democrats, with 50 percent of registered voters polled saying they will back Democratic candidates, compared with 39 percent for Republicans. It's the third of four polls taken since September that show Democrats with a double-digit lead over Republicans. The question, Newsweek said, is whether the Democrats can maintain their strong lead among independent voters. The poll showed that recent presidential speeches supporting the war in Iraq haven't improved the public's perception of the conflict. Two thirds of those polled, 65 percent, disapprove of how Bush is handling the war, and just 29 percent approve, the poll showed. As in other polls, Bush, a Republican, fared better among those of his own party than with Democrats. Domestic Issues On the domestic front, 58 percent disapproved of Bush's handling of energy issues and 62 percent disapprove of how he's dealt with health-care issues, with only 28 percent approving in each area, a new low in both cases. The poll showed 36 percent approved of his handling of the economy. A bright spot for Bush is the Supreme Court. His choices of John Roberts and Samuel Alito met with approval from 47 percent of those polled. It was the only area where more people approved than disapproved, Newsweek said. Wisconsin Senator's Russell Feingold's call for censure of the president was met with approval by 42 percent of those who were polled, while 50 percent disapproved of the Democrat's censure request. Those polled thought the censure call was based more on politics than principle, by a margin of 53 percent to 33 percent. Just 26 percent would support taking the step of impeaching Bush, with 94 percent of Republicans opposing the idea and Democrats split, with 49 percent in favor and 48 percent opposed. Still, 69 percent overall oppose having him removed from office. The poll, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, was based on telephone interviews with 1,020 adults conducted on March 16 and 17. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points for results based on total adults and plus or minus 4 for results based on 800 registered voters. --------------------------------------------------- Please help our fight against the New World Order by giving a donation. As bandwidth costs increase, the only way we can stay online and expand is with your support. Please consider giving a monthly or one-off donation for whatever you can afford. You can pay securely by either credit card or Paypal. Click here to donate. |
