Bush approval ratings low

2004-03-09 15:40

Washington - President George W Bush's approval rating remains at an all time low of 50% and he would lose by up to nine points against presumptive Democratic candidate John Kerry if elections were held now, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll published on Tuesday.

The telephone survey of 1 202 adults found that a majority disapproved of Bush's handling of most issues of public concern from the economy to gay marriage, with only taxes, education and terrorism making the approved list.

Sixty-seven percent felt Bush favoured the interests of large corporations over working people, while those who viewed him as someone who could bring the people together were evenly split, 48-49%, with those who said he had done more to divide the country.

Bush's overall support went unchanged from last month at 50%, the lowest of his three years in the White House - his highest surpassed 90% during the US-led military operation in Afghanistan, in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Bush's chances against Massachusetts Senator Kerry would fall nine points short (53-44%) if a head-to-head presidential race were held today, but would be closer (48-44%) in a three-man race with independent candidate and consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who would get 3% of the vote.

Some analysts consulted by The Washington Post considered Bush's deteriorating standings a consequence of the Democratic nominating contest, predicting that Bush would trail or tie with Kerry until the Republican National Convention in late August.

Bush's slide in the Washington Post-ABC News poll echoed similar results of a CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey announced on Monday, in which Kerry was favoured to beat Bush in a present-day election by a 52-44% margin.

However, that poll also found that 52% of Americans believed Bush would be re-elected in November against only 42% for Kerry.

- AFP