Bush's Approval Ratings Reach New Lows
USA TODAY
Poll finds Bush suffering from 'second-term-itis'
By Susan Page
WASHINGTON — [George W.] Bush seems to have slipped into a second-term slump.
Support
continues to erode for his signature goal of adding individual
investment accounts to Social Security, according to a [recent] USA
TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll. The coalition that [“gave”] him four more years in
office is showing signs of strain over the Terri Schiavo case. And
Americans are increasingly distressed about gas prices and wary about
his central justification for going to war in Iraq. Andy Kohut,
director of the non-partisan Pew Research Center, says Bush seems to
have caught “a mild case of second-term-itis…”
In the poll:
For the first time, a majority oppose his plan to add investment accounts even if the poll question doesn't mention it would mean a reduction in guaranteed benefits.
On Iraq,
Americans by 50%-48% say the Bush administration deliberately misled
the American public about whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction,
the reason Bush emphasized in making the case for war. It is the first time more people than not see an attempt to mislead.
Bush's rating on handling the economy dropped to 41%, down 7 percentage points from a month ago. His disapproval rating on handling Social Security is the highest [ever], at 57%.
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