Bush approval ratings recover

2005-12-14 11:08

Washington - US President George W Bush's overall approval rating has recovered from record lows, but most Americans still think he is on the wrong track in Iraq, a poll showed on Tuesday.

The survey published in USA Today found 42% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president, five percentage points higher than his record low of 37% in mid-November.

Still, most Americans - 59% to 39% - disapproved of Bush's handling of Iraq, and he remains the country's most unpopular second-term president since World War II except for Richard Nixon, the poll said.

A pollster for Bush's Republican Party, David Winston, told the newspaper he believes the survey reflects a drop in petrol prices and growing optimism about the economy.

Democratic pollster Doug Schoen said the "underlying dynamic" - that Bush had lost Americans' trust - was unchanged.

The survey of 1 003 adults taken last weekend has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA