US poll puts Democrats in lead

2006-10-08 10:05

Washington - A majority of Americans want the opposition Democrats to take control of the US Congress, a poll released on Saturday found.

Fifty-three percent of those surveyed would like to see the Democrats secure a majority in Congress in the November 7 elections, the Newsweek poll found. In contrast 35% say they would like the Republicans to retain control.

"A plurality of Americans, 42%, now say they trust Democrats to do a better job of handling moral values; 36% say they trust Republicans more," the poll found.

"This represents almost a complete reversal from an Aug. 2-Sept. 1, 2002 Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard/Washington Post poll in which 31% of Americans said they would trust Democrats to handle moral values better while 44% said they would trust Republicans more."

On the war on terror, 44% of Americans trust the Democrats to handle the effort instead of Republicans - a five-point increase from a Newsweek poll conducted August 10-11. Thirty-seven percent trust the Republicans more - a seven-point drop from the same August Newsweek Poll, it found.

President George W Bush's approval rating fell to a new low of 33%, a three-point drop from the August 24-25, 2006 survey. Fifty-nine% of Americans disapproved of how Bush is handling his job as president.

"Sixty-seven percent say they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States; only 25% say they are satisfied," the survey showed.

- AFP