Bush 'more unpopular than ever'

2005-08-25 07:12

Washington - Americans are more dissatisfied with US President George W Bush than ever before in his presidency, and are increasingly worried about the course of the Iraq war, three polls released this week showed.

In all three, Bush's job performance rating plummeted in the past month, with disapproval of the president's performance running between 54 percent and 58 percent.

Those expressing approval of Bush's performance fell to between 36 percent and 45 percent, a sharp decline from just a month earlier, reflecting in part the course of the Iraq war and the sharp climb in petrol prices, pollsters said.

Moreover, approval of the leading figures in his administration, including vice-president Dick Cheney and defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, is also hitting record lows.

Sounding

According to Harris Poll's latest sounding of the US mood, released on Wednesday, only 40 percent of Americans feel Bush is doing a good job, while 58 percent have a negative view. That is compared to 45 percent approval and 55 percent disapproval just three months ago.

Harris tied the fall in Bush's approval ratings with a sharp rise in concern about the US war in Iraq compared to a year ago, the direction of the US economy, and a more recent surge in concerns about petrol prices.

Altogether 59 percent of the people polled by Harris said the United States was on the wrong track, the highest level since 1996, and up from 48 percent in January, when Bush was inaugurated for his second four-year term in office.

In a second poll, the Rasmussen Reports put Bush's approval rating at only 45 percent, and 54 percent disapproval.

Disapproved

Bush's lowest rating came with the American Research Group's poll results, in which 36 percent said they approved of how the president was doing his job, and 58 percent disapproved. That was compared to a 42 percent approval rating in July and 51 percent approval in January.

Similar disenchantment was registered with key members of Bush' government like Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Republican leaders in Congress, the Harris Poll showed. With one exception, all rated near or at record lows, with positive views of them registering 40 percent or less.

The exception was in public views of secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, whose positive rating has steadily climbed from 52 percent in February to 57 percent in August.

The only bright sign in the polls for the Bush administration is that, according to Harris, Americans are equally disenchanted with Bush's Republican and the opposition Democrat parties.

- SAPA