Newsday: "Bush's approval rating has sunk to its lowest level ever in New York and Democratic challenger John Kerry's lead in the heavily Democratic state is growing, a statewide poll reported Wednesday. The bad news for Bush comes less than 2 months before the Republican National Convention in to open in New York City for the first time. The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute survey had Bush's approval rating in the state at 36%, down from 52% a year ago and from the 82% mark it hit in the immediate wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center towers. "The Northeast is not Bush territory and New York is the center of anti-Bush sentiment," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Hamden, Conn.-based polling institute." In short, Bush has been "hoisted on his own petard" of arrogance - assuming NYC would welcome the "9/11 hero" with open arms.

Bloomberg: "Bush's job approval rating fell to 44 percent from 48 percent in April, following revelations that U.S. soldiers abused Iraqi prisoners, a poll by the Pew Center for the People and the Press shows. The percentage of Americans who think the nation is headed in the right direction is at 33 percent, an eight-year low, and 61 percent said they are dissatisfied with 'the way things are going in this country,' the Pew survey said. In an election match-up, Democratic presidential rival John Kerry, a four-term Massachusetts senator, leads Bush by 50 percent to 45 percent."

Those poor folks at AP, who work so hard to fudge poll figures in Bush's favor are having a tough time. They managed to massage their results enough to show Bush leading Kerry by three points (a feat even Gallup couldn't do this week!). But even their best efforts failed to pull Bush's approval rating on his handling of the economy higher than 43%. And here Bush thought all those new part-time $7/hr jobs that opened up this month would do the trick! Meanwhile, the AP story about the AP poll (no conflict of interest here!), is well-padded with pro-Bush and anti-Kerry statements.

Reuters: " Bush's approval rating is at an all-time low, according to a CBS/New York Times poll released on Wednesday. The poll found that if the presidential election due in November was held today, 46 percent of Americans would vote for Democrat John Kerry and 44 percent would vote for Bush -- if independent Ralph Nader stayed out of the race. Just 32 percent, the lowest number ever, say Iraq was a threat that required immediate military action a year ago, the poll reported. Less than half, 47 percent, now say the United States did the right thing taking military action in Iraq, the lowest support recorded in CBS News/New York Times polls since the war began. The poll said the Iraq war appeared to have hurt assessments of Bush -- his overall approval rating (46 percent), his rating on handling Iraq (41 percent) and his rating on handling foreign policy (40 percent) 'are at the lowest points ever in this administration.'"

Copley News Service: "Last week, a Washington Post-ABC News poll found that only 52 percent view Bush as 'honest and trustworthy,' down 7 points from the last poll and down significantly from a high of 71 percent in the summer of 2002.' Although the White House has tried to pass this poll off as just a 'blip' due to 'bad press,' a second poll, released 2/19 by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press showed Bush's image at the low point of his presidency. 'Perhaps most troubling to a president who prides himself on being forthright, the most frequently used negative word to describe Bush was 'liar' - a word that never showed up in the May survey." Politicos say that Bush's attacks on Kerry's credibility will likely backfire bigtime.

"Americans' continued worries about jobs and the economy, along with a decreasing belief that Iraq posed an immediate threat to the U.S., has weakened what had been strong support for George W. Bush, and given his Democratic opponents an advantage -- at least for now. Most Americans also believe the Bush Administration exaggerated the pre-war intelligence about Iraqi weapons, and that Bush's self-described status as a 'war President' was brought on by his own choices, not forced upon him by world events. Registered voters now give a five-point lead to an unnamed Democratic candidate over George W. Bush. By 47% to 42% registered voters now say they would support a Democrat over the Republican President. But different Democrats fare differently against the President. If the November election were held today, voters would favor Kerry over Bush 48% to 43%... George W. Bush's job approval is 50%, unchanged since last month."

"A majority of Americans believe President Bush either lied or deliberately exaggerated evidence that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction in order to justify war, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The survey results, which also show declining support for the war in Iraq and for Bush's leadership in general, indicate the public is increasingly questioning the president's truthfulness -- a concern for Bush's political advisers as his reelection bid gets underway. Barely half -- 52 percent -- now believe Bush is 'honest and trustworthy,' down 7 percentage points since late October and his worst showing since the question was first asked, in March 1999. At his best, in the summer of 2002, Bush was viewed as honest by 71 percent. The survey found that nearly seven in 10 think Bush 'honestly believed' Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Even so, 54 percent thought Bush exaggerated or lied about prewar intelligence."

"Bush's public support dropped sharply over the past month, especially among older voters, political independents and people in the Midwest, an Associated Press poll found. And for the first time, more voters in this poll's two years of tracking the question said they would definitely vote against Bush than said they would definitely vote for him. Bush's approval rating stood at 47 percent in the AP-Ipsos poll taken in early February, down from 56 percent approval just a month ago. Half, or 50 percent, said they disapproved in the latest poll... The survey came at a time when the public is nervous about the economy and the chief adviser to the administration on Iraqi weapons, David Kay, said last month 'we were almost all wrong' about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Bush's 47 percent approval rating is the same as his father's at this stage in his presidency 12 years ago before he lost to Bill Clinton."

While pundits spent the week dissecting the Dean Scream, they missed a far bigger story - the Bush Burp. Bush's SOTU was so full of in-your-face lies that it sent his approval ratings tumbling. "A week after Bush's SOTU, his approval rating has fallen to 50% from 54% in the last Newsweek Poll (1/8-9/04). A 52% majority of registered voters says it would NOT like to see him re-elected to a second term. Only 44% say they would like to see him re-elected, a four-point drop from the last Newsweek Poll. (Of that, 37% strongly want to see him re-elected, and 47% strongly do not)." Of course, the media can never write a negative story about Bush, so instead they look for a way to twist it for Bush. "A large majority of voters (78%) says that it is very likely (40%) or somewhat likely (38%) that Bush will in fact be re-elected to a second term in office. Only 10% believe it is not too likely or not at all likely (10%)." Just wait until voters discover Bush is a goner!

"Given a choice between Bush and an unnamed Democratic candidate, 43 percent would vote for Bush and 45 percent would vote for the Democrat, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll published Sunday. Former Vermont governor Howard Dean was the top choice for Democratic Party presidential nominee, with 24 percent support, versus 12 percent for retired general Wesley Clark, 11 percent for Representative Dick Gephardt and seven percent for John Kerry. Meanwhile, the boost Bush enjoyed in the wake of Saddam Hussein's capture has faded."

"The capture of Saddam Hussein had a minimal effect on George W. Bush's approval ratings, which are hovering at their lowest levels since he took office in January, 2001, according to a poll. The Harris Poll, conducted before and after the ousted Iraqi leader's capture on December 13, found only a slight improvement in the president's ratings, up from 48 percent positive, 51 percent negative, to 50 percent positive, 49 percent negative. They were the worst monthly ratings Harris has reported for the president since the September 11 terrorist attacks of two years ago, and the highest negative ratings since he took office."

"Bush continues to get a number of net negative approval ratings in important areas: 45% approval/46% disapproval on the economy; 45% approval/50% disapproval on Iraq, 31% approval/55% disapproval on the budget deficit and -- significantly, in light of the recent passage of the Medicare bill -- 35% approval/52% disapproval, essentially unchanged from early November. Most intriguingly, on a number of current Bush administration policies, voters who say they are less likely to vote for Bush because of these policies outnumber those who say they are more likely. This includes the Bush's Iraq policy and decision to go to war (40% less likely/39 more); the way Bush and his administration have handled the situation in Iraq (44% less likely/34% more); the amount of money the US is spending to rebuild Iraq (54% less likely/18% more); the current state of the economy and job situation (37% less likely/30% more) and the recently passed and signed Medicare bill (36% less likely/27% more)."

According to Sunday's CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, "The results show that most Americans say the capture won't affect their vote: 45% of those interviewed said they were planning on voting for Bush even before the capture, while almost as many, 43% said they were planning not to vote for Bush and that the capture would not change their opinion. That leaves just 3% of Americans whose immediate reaction was to admit that they have become more likely to vote for Bush as a direct result of the capture of Hussein." This is REALLY bad news for Karl Rove and the Bush-loving corporate media.

"This week's FOX News poll finds that when asked which present they would like to give Bush, 43% of voters say 'another four years in the White House' and 47% say they would give him retirement to the Crawford ranch. [LoL!] Men favor giving Bush another four years by a 48% to 44% margin, while women prefer to send him back to the ranch by 51% to 38% [Go Women!]... Independents lean more toward making Bush a one-term president, as 49% would give him retirement and only 35% say another four years [Go Independents!]. Despite the new Medicare legislation - seen as a major victory [only by FOX!] for the resident - and positive reports on the nation's economy, the poll finds that on a more traditional reelect question Bush's numbers still remain below 50%. If the election were held today, 43% say they would be more likely to vote for Bush and 36% for an unnamed Democratic candidate, with 21% unsure, which is essentially where the numbers stood in October."

From Donkey Rising: "The latest Ipsos/Cook Political Report poll has the right direction/wrong track question at 38 percent right direction/56 percent wrong track, exactly where this measure was in the last half of September and early October. Bush's overall approval rating in the Ipsos poll is at 50 percent, the lowest rating they've recorded for him since 9/11. Even his approval rating on the economy has snapped back to net negative (46 percent approval/51 percent disapproval) after reaching the break-even point in early November. And, for the first time in this poll, the number who would 'definitely vote to re-elect Bush as President' is identical with the number who would 'definitely vote for someone else' (37 percent to 37 percent). (Another 25 percent say they would 'consider voting for someone else'.)... Hmmm. Sounds like the public's starting to catch on."

CNN reports, "A poll released Saturday finds that more registered voters want to see Bush voted out than kept in office in the next election, but his job approval rating has remained constant. In the Newsweek poll, 50% of registered voters who were queried said they do not want to see Bush re-elected, while 44% said they do." That means he's losing by 6% before the race even begins, which is exactly the same deficit that Zogby reported this week (38%-44%). Funny, but Newsweek (owned by PentaPost) SCRUBBED this shockingly bad (for Bush) number from its own story! Karl Rove didn't "vet" Newsweek's story, did he? Nah, 'course not.

"More than four in 10 voters nationwide say they definitely plan to vote against Bush next year - more than plan to vote for him. The poll, from Marist College, found that 44% of voters surveyed said they planned to definitely vote against the Republican president while 38% said they would vote for his re-election. An April poll from the Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-based pollsters had found that 40% of voters nationwide planned to vote for Bush while 30% said they would vote against him. The latest poll also found a drop in Bush's approval rating, which has been documented by other recent nationwide polls. The Marist poll had the president's approval rating at 53%, down from 70% in its April poll. In the new poll, voters were evenly divided on Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq with 48% approving and 47% disapproving. In the April poll, 76% said they approved of Bush's handling of the Iraq situation." We predict W will get less votes than Poppy's pathetic 37%. Re-Defeat Bush!

Donkey Rising: "Consistent with other public polls, Bush's approval rating on Iraq has slipped to net negative (47% approval/51% disapproval) from net positive in mid-September. But from the standpoint of the Bush administration, the most disturbing approval findings may be these. His approval rating on taxes has slipped to a net rating of -12 points (41% approval/53% disapproval) from a 48%/48% split in mid-September. When you've got a net negative rating on your signature domestic issue, that's very bad news indeed. And when you look at two other key domestic areas, both of which seem likely to figure in '04, his ratings are beyond merely bad: 32%/61% disapproval on the federal budget deficit and 28%/63% disapproval on the cost, availability and coverage of health insurance."

PentaPost reports, "Two years after a surge of national unity in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the US is once again a 50-50 nation, shaped by partisan divisions as deep as ever... Three years after one of the closest and most bitterly contested elections in U.S. history, the nation is again polarized over the performance of the resident. Bush's Republican supporters see him as strong and decisive, a man of good character and moral convictions. His Democratic detractors believe that, at home and abroad, he is leading the country in the wrong direction... Voter interviews suggest that Bush has made few converts among those who voted against him in 2000, while some of those who backed him say they may not do so again unless there is clear improvement in the jobs situation and stabilization of the violence in Iraq." Bush's "strongly approve" rating is down to 30%, his lowest since 9-11; his "strongly disapprove" rating is up to 29%, his highest ever.

From Donkey Rising: "Three more national polls of adults have been released and once again we cannot verify the Bush bounce. The Pew Research Center poll, covering October 15-19, has Bush's approval rating at 50 percent, down 5 points from their September 17-22 poll. The American Research Group has his approval rating at 47 percent in an October 18-21 poll, no change from their September poll. On the other hand, CBS News has his rating at 54 percent in a October 20-21 poll, up 3 points from their September 28-October 1 poll. Note however that the Pew Research poll, conducted by the very reputable Princeton Survey Research Associates, has twice the sample size (1,515 to 751) of the CBS News poll. Note also the very interesting finding in the Pew survey that about three-quarters of adults think Bush's economic policies are either making the US economy worse (43 percent) or not having not much effect (31 percent). Just 18 percent say they are making the economy better."

"If the 2004 presidential election were today, 46 percent of Americans say they would vote to re-elect Bush, while 47 percent would favor the Democratic candidate -- the resident's weakest showing to date in this so-called generic horse race... 17 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they'd vote today for Dean, 13 percent for Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri, 12 percent for Clark, 10 percent for Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, 9 percent for Lieberman, 6 percent for former Illinois senator and ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, with the remaining three candidates under 5 percent... On another issue, the alleged leak of a CIA officer's name, one view has worsened somewhat for the administration: Thirty-nine percent think it's fully cooperating in the investigation, down from 47 percent Sept. 30. [More than 8 in 10 view the charges that the Bush administration gave away the identity of a CIA agent as a 'serious matter.']"

"Most Americans now believe the Iraq war was not worth it, according to CBS News/New York Times poll released on Thursday which showed a sharp fall in public confidence in Bush's ability to handle foreign and economic policy issues. The poll found new lows for Bush's foreign policy performance, which garnered just a 44% approval rating. Among respondents, 50% lacked confidence in his ability to handle an international crisis and 53% said they now believed the Iraq war was not worth it. Bush's overall job approval rating was just above 50%, almost back to the level before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and down sharply from his 89% approval rating after the attacks... Just over a year before the Nov. 2004 election, a solid majority, 56%, of Americans thought the country was seriously on the wrong track... Eyeing the presidential election, voters were split 44% to 44% between Bush and an unnamed Democratic opponent."

BBC News: "Hostility towards the US has reached 'shocking' levels in the Muslim world, according to a report released in Washington. A panel of experts chosen by the Bush administration found that good will towards America had plummeted in the past year, from Jordan to Indonesia. It called for more money to be spent on promoting US policies, and made specific recommendations such as recruiting more Arabic-speaking diplomats. The BBC's state department correspondent, Jon Leyne, says the findings only confirm earlier reports but are significant in that they were commissioned this time by the US administration. One member of the panel, John Zogby, said America's standing in the Muslim and Arab world could not get any worse than it was today. The report's authors stressed that they were not addressing US policies per se but their presentation... At the same time, the report, which was compiled by 13 experts including several Arabs and Muslims, warned against adopting propaganda devices."

Tom Curry writes, "George W. Bush is in the worst political trouble of his residency, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday night. Bush's approval rating now stands at 49 percent, the lowest point of his tenure... Presented with various options for raising the money to pay for the Iraqi project, 56% of respondents said they'd opt for repealing the portion of the tax cuts that Congress passed last May that benefits upper-income taxpayers... But it is hard to imagine that GOP congressional leaders would ever allow a bill to rescind the upper-income tax cuts to come to a vote. And for Bush to agree to repeal of any portion of the tax cuts is unthinkable. Politically it would be futile: It would gain him no credit among those voters who are already inclined to boot him out of office. Worse still, it would alienate the core Republican loyalists whose votes he must have in order to win the election." Sign our petition: http://taxtherich.com

Ruy Teixeira writes, "The just-released NBC/Wall Street Journal poll has Bush's approval rating at just 49%, with 45% disapproval. This is the first major public poll to break the 50% barrier. The poll also shows that more people now believe the policies of the Bush administration (25%) are responsible for the recession and economic downturn we are experiencing than believe the effects of 9/11 and the war on terrorism (22%) are responsible. That's a huge turnaround from October of 2002 when 34% blamed 9/11 for economic problems and only 12% blamed Bush administration policies."

"Resident Bush's approval rating has suffered a double-digit drop among New York voters in five months and about one-quarter of Republicans now say they will vote against him, a statewide poll reported Tuesday. The downturn for Bush comes in the wake of boasting by Republican Gov. George Pataki and other top New York GOP officials that the president will carry the Empire State next year. No Republican president has managed that in heavily Democratic New York since Ronald Reagan did it in 1980 and 1984. 'Obviously, the election is a long way away, but these numbers suggest that's a tall order at this point,' said Lee Miringoff, head of Marist College's Institute for Public Opinion... Bush's approval rating was 44 percent in the New York poll, down from 58 percent in April and a high of 79 percent in December 2001... But in the latest Marist poll, 48 percent of New York voters surveyed, including 23 percent of Republicans, said they definitely planned to vote against Bush in 2004."

Ruy Teixeira writes, "The honor of the second sub-50 Bush approval rating goes to the just-released American Research Group (ARG) poll which has our steadily-less-beloved resident at just 47% approval with 48% disapproval - in other words, a net negative job rating. Just a month ago, ARG had Bush's approval rating at a net +15 (54% approval/39% disapproval). Breathing right down ARG's neck is the latest Gallup poll, which has Bush's approval rating at 50% approval/47% disapproval. That's even lower than the approval rating Gallup measured for Bush right before 9/11, when Bush was at 52% approval but only 39% disapproval - 8 points less than Bush's current disapproval rating. In other words, Bush has now not only lost every point in approval rating he gained post-9/11, he is actually in substantially worse shape, because so many more people disapprove of the job he is doing. Could it get worse? Let's hope so."

"Resident Bush's approval rating on handling Iraq has fallen to its lowest level ever, and his overall approval rating is the lowest it has been since the 2001 terrorist attacks, according to a CBS News poll. The poll also finds that a declining number of Americans think the U.S. is in control of the situation in Iraq, and only 22% think the Bush administration has a clear plan for rebuilding the former dictatorship. Americans also question whether a successful rebuilding of Iraq would ultimately pay dividends for them back at home: most do not think the United States will be any safer from terrorism even if Iraq does become a stable democracy. But many Americans do believe the rebuilding process in Iraq will force tough financial tradeoffs back at home - tradeoffs they would be unwilling to make."

Ruy Tiexeira: "[O]n a wide range of domestic issues, his ratings are truly abysmal. They include: the economy at 42%/56% disapproval; creating jobs at 39%/55% disapproval; the federal budget at 38%/57% disapproval; prescription drugs for seniors at 35%/54% disapproval; and the cost, availability and coverage of health insurance at 32%/61% disapproval.... Other notably bad domestic ratings include Social Security at 43%/46% disapproval and taxes at 48%/48% disapproval. The latter figure is worth emphasizing since it is the first time disapproval has been as high as approval on Bush's signature domestic issue. Finally, for the first time since 9/11 more people think Bush doesn't understand 'the problems of people like you' than think he does (51% to 48%). And in a nice bit of symmetry, 62% now believe large business corporations have too much influence on the Bush administration and 62% believe 'people like you' have too little."

Donkey Rising: "And it's even in a Republican poll!! (DR doesn't count the recent Zogby sub-50 reading, because they ask the approval question differently.) In the just-released Winston Group/New Models poll for the House GOP conference, W's approval rating clocks in at 49 percent, with 46 percent disapproval. How sweet it is. The poll also gives the Democrats a 5 point lead (45 percent to 40 percent) in a generic Congressional ballot question. If Karl Rove wasn't nervous before, he might be starting to break a sweat."

Here's an example of just how hard it's getting for the White House and its corporate pals to manipulate news and polls and keep the propaganda consistent. In the latest Washington Post-ABC poll, 60% of respondents said they disapprove of Bush's request for $87 to rebuild Iraq. And, most said if Bush wants the cash, he'd better roll back the tax cuts, which, of course, are mostly benefiting his wealthiest supporters. But, at the same time, through skillful wording and other manipulations, the Bush machine has (as the article mentions) managed to keep cranking out poll results indicating "strong support" for the Iraq war and the occupation. So we're supposed to either believe most Americans are afflicted by multiple personality syndrome - or that the "strong support" of the Bush war is a total myth. We bet the bogus Bush ranch that the latter is true.

Ruy Teixeira writes: "Bush's approval rating in the Gallup poll released yesterday has plunged to 52%. Perhaps it's like the coyote in the roadrunner cartoons who suddenly realizes he's running on air and starts falling. And this poll is just chock-a-block with other bad news for the Bushies.... Bush's approval rating on the economy is 45% with 53% disapproval. His rating on the Iraq situation is now 51% approval/47% disapproval for a +4 rating, down from +16 over the same period.... [J]ust 40% say the Bush administration has a clear plan for handling the Iraq situation, compared to 59% who do not.... And a direct question on whether Congress should or should not authorize an additional $87 billion in government spending for Iraq and the war on terrorism actually yields a modest majority (51% to 46%) against such an authorization.... Only 40% say they're satisfied with the way things are going in the country today and 58% say they're dissatisfied."

"Two years after [9-11], the U.S. public favours a distinctly less unilateral strategy than the one pursued by George W. Bush, found a major new poll released Tuesday. Some 81% of more than 1,200 respondents told pollsters from the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) that working 'more closely' with other countries was a key lesson learned from Sep. 11, as opposed to Washington acting 'on its own more' to fight terrorism. Strong majorities also called for the administration to pursue 'more cooperative approaches' with other nations and rely more on economic aid and diplomacy to fight terrorism and less on military means, according to the survey, conducted by California-based Knowledge Networks between Aug. 26 and Sep. 3... Before the 9-11 attacks, 14% of respondents expressed a great deal of confidence in the government's capability, a total that rose to 36% in October 2001. But today, the figure has fallen back to 18%, Gallup said."

Zogby reports when asked about Bush's job performance, only 45% rated him good or excellent -- that's more than the margin of error (+/- 3.2%) below 50%. The "re-elect" numbers in this poll are similar: 52% would not vote for him, and only 40% would. That means Bush is losing by 12% - exactly the same margin reported by CNN this week. That's the good news: the bad news is that whenever Bush's poll numbers drop, "by coincidence" something bad happens to scare people and drive them back up. What does Rove have planned for this latest downturn?

CNN reports, "41% of all registered voters say they will definitely vote AGAINST Bush; just 29% say they will definitely vote FOR him. So Bush must woo about seven in ten swing voters -- not a difficult task for a popular incumbent, but far from a certainty." A POPULAR incumbent??? With only 29% of the vote??? Hello??? Folks, this is an AMAZING poll. Bush had a 92% approval rating after 9-11, which is when the media declared him Emperor. Now the Emperator is nearly naked - all he has to cover his sorry political ass is a pathetic pair of briefs. Not high-class Calvin Kleins either - but pathetic made-in-China Karl Roves. Pretty soon he'll be down to a thong, and then the Emperator will be butt naked. America is waking up - Re-defeat Bush!

"On the war with Iraq, just 43% of independents now say the result of the war was worth its costs, while 49% think the result wasn't worth the costs. And only 42% believe the US is in control of events taking place in Iraq, compared to 50% who say we aren't. Note that these data were collected before the car bombing in Najaf.... Finally, a mere 17% think the threat of terrorism against the US has been decreased as a result of the war with Iraq. That number is dwarfed by the 30% who believe the threat of terrorism has increased and the 51% who believe the threat has remained the same. An independent voter who doesn't feel safer, who doesn't feel the war was worth the costs and who thinks the Iraq situation is spinning out of control is an independent voter that Bush is on the verge of losing. More proof, if proof were needed, that Democrats shouldn't be hugging Bush on the national security issue, they should be going after him."

CBS News reports: While Bush remains very [sic!] popular, many voters think he can be beaten. 38% of voters think Bush will definitely be re-elected, but more - 50% - think a Democratic candidate can win in 2004. There are partisan differences on this question. While 64% of Republican voters think Bush will be re-elected, more than a quarter - 27% - think a Democrat can beat him. Democrats, of course, are more optimistic that Bush can be beat; 70% think a Democratic candidate can win in 2004. Independent voters are in the middle, with 32% who think Bush will be re-elected, and 52% who think a Democrat can win.... There is less confidence in Bush's re-election now than there was for his father in late 1991. Back in October 1991, 66% of voters thought George H.W. Bush would definitely be re-elected; but that dropped precipitously over the next month to 47% by November 1991." GWHB got only 37% on Election Day - and GWB will do even worse!

SF Chronicle reports: "Bush's approval rating in California has reached a new low in a long decline since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to a Field Poll released Thursday. While half the state's voters now approve of his performance as resident, 45 percent disapprove and the rest are undecided. ... Democrats have reversed their post-9/11 approval [74%], with 72 percent now believing he is doing a poor job. Among independent voters, 48 percent now hold a negative view. Bush continues to enjoy an overwhelming 86 percent approval rating from Republicans. Moreover, 50 percent of Californians now think the nation is headed down the wrong track, while 44 percent think the nation is moving in the right direction. Support for Bush's re-election fell from 46 percent to 42 percent just in the last month. Support for his Iraq policy also has slipped, from 60 percent immediately after the United States began its military action to 52 percent."

"George W. Bush's job performance rating has slipped to 52% positive, 48% negative, according to a poll of 1,011 likely U.S. voters by Zogby International. From a post-September 11th peak of 82%, his rating has slipped steadily with the exception of a slight increase following the official end of the war in Iraq. [Tell that to the soldiers - and the UN.] The 'down' trend is also seen in the percent of likely voters who say it's time for someone new in the White House (48%), compared to 45% who said Bush deserves to be re-elected... Just over two in five (43%) likely voters say they would choose Bush over a Democratic candidate, and a like number (43%) preferred a Democrat if the election were held today, compared to July polling by Zogby International where 48% would choose Bush and 43% would favor any Democrat."

"Public confidence in America's military involvement in Iraq has eroded recently with 42% of U.S. adults now describing themselves as 'not certain' that committing troops to war was the right thing to do. Certainty that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction immediately before the war also has declined, according to a survey of 1,048 people conducted by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University. The poll, taken during two weeks ending Aug. 12, found a broad drop in commitment for U.S. involvement in Iraq over a similar survey taken in early May... [when] fewer than a third of Americans said they had doubts about the correctness of the war and the military occupation that followed. Bush's approval rating also has dropped, with 52% saying they approve of what he has done as resident, a 12-percentage point decline in less than three months and the lowest number yet recorded by the polls since he took office in January 2001."

"A Zogby poll released today shows that when asked if George Bush deserves re-election, only 46% of Americans said yes and a narrow majority, 47%, said it is time for someone new. The poll, with a margin of error of +/- 3%, on a generic 2004 ballot between Bush and a Democratic candidate, Bush received 47% of support, and a Democratic candidate received 44%, putting the Bush and a Democratic candidate in a statistical dead heat still a year before the Democratic candidate is selected. The second poll, released yesterday by Fox News/Opinion Dynamics and published in National Journal's Hotline showed should the 2004 election be held today, those planning to reelect Bush had dropped to 42%."

Here is a poll number that is sending chills down Karl Rove's spine: "Do you think George W. Bush is a leader you can trust, or do you have some doubts and reservations?" Only 47% view Bush as a leader they can trust, while 51% said they have doubts and reservations. That's down from 56% who saw him as a leader they could trust in late March, with 41% having doubts. From +15% to -4% is a massive negative swing of 19%. Hey George - you'd better raise a few hundred million more bucks, because by 11/04 no one will believe a word you say.

AP reports: "The public has grown increasingly uneasy with Bush's handling of the economy and the situation in Iraq, a new poll suggests. Bush's overall job approval dropped 8 points since May to 55%, according to a CNN-Time poll released Friday. A majority in this poll, 52%, said Bush is doing a poor job of handling the economy, and just four in 10 say the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq has been a success... Half in the poll, 50%, said it was likely they would support Bush's re-election, while almost that many, 46%, said it was unlikely."

Here's a poll that no doubt set off alarm bells in the White House, the media, and corporate suites: a poll of 1,004 likely U.S. voters by Zogby on 7/16-17 shows "someone new" beats Bush by 47% to 46%! Zogby writes, "What has been propping up Bush in the past few months is his personal favorability rating. To me, what is most ominous is this alone has slipped 9 points in the past month. If he cannot count on a large majority of Americans to like him personally [gag us with a spoon!], this could spell doom for his re-Selection hopes because he has little support for his overall performance and how he is rated on the issues." Bush's "popularity" is plummeting because soldiers keep dying and Bush keeps lying. Hey cowardly Dems - it's safe to start attacking Bush, so fire away!

WashPost reports: "Public support for pResident Bush has dropped sharply amid growing concerns about U.S. military casualties and doubts whether the war with Iraq was worth fighting, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Bush's overall job approval rating dropped to 59 percent, down nine points in the past 18 days. That decline exactly mirrored the slide in public support for Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq, which now stands at 58 percent. Six in 10 said it damaged the image of the United States abroad, and half said the conflict caused permanent damage to U.S. relations with France, Germany and other allies who opposed the war. And for the first time, slightly more than half the country -- 52 percent -- believes there has been an 'unacceptable' level of U.S. casualties in Iraq, up eight points in less than three weeks... Six in 10 said it damaged the image of the United States abroad."

From Reuters: "Americans have become more critical of President [sic] Bush's handling of the war in Iraq as well as his efforts regarding the economy and health care, according to an opinion poll released on Tuesday. Bush's overall job performance rating of 60 percent is down 14 points from its post-Iraq war peak of 74 percent, according to a nationwide Pew Research Center poll conducted from June 19 to July 2. Sixty-seven percent of respondents continued to support the decision to go to war in Iraq, down slightly from 74 percent in mid-April. But less than a quarter -- 23 percent -- thought the U.S.-led war in Iraq was 'going well,' compared with 61 percent in April."

The media keeps portraying Bush as "popular," but political pros know that any incumbent whose "re-elect" number is below 50% is in deep doo-doo. According to the latest Ipsos-Reid poll, Bush's "re-elect" is now at 40%, only 2% above his lowest-ever rating of 38% - despite "winning" two wars and strutting his "stuff" [puke!] across the deck of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln. Meanwhile 32% will "definitely vote for someone else," and 26% will "consider someone else." If Bush was an ordinary Senator with dismal poll numbers like these, the pundits would be calling him "endangered" - or, more accurately, "dead meat." Of course, the corporate media knows this, so they are trying to switch the election handicapping game from popularity to campaign cash, since Bush is busy pumping it by the oil barrel. But Karl Rove should study the lyrics of the old Beatles tune - "I don't care too much for money, for money can't buy me love."

"George W. Bush's job performance rating has slipped to 58% from his most recent high of 61% in April, according to the newest Zogby America poll conducted June 6 - 10. Zogby International surveyed 1,012 likely voters, with a margin of error of +/- 3.2%. Just over four in ten (41%) viewed his job performance negatively. If the presidential election were held today, the President [sic] would beat a generic Democratic candidate, 44% - 37%. One in six (16%) are not sure how they would vote. Nearly half (49%) of the respondents say Bush deserves to be re-elected, while 38% say it is time for someone new. Two-thirds (66%) of the likely voters say they have a favorable opinion of the resident, while 32% say their opinion is unfavorable... He earns higher negative ratings for job performance in the areas of taxes (45% positive, 51% negative); jobs and the economy (35% positive, 63% negative); health care (34% positive, 59% negative); and the environment (33% positive, 60% negative)."

Mike Hersh writes: "Less than 20 months before Election Day 2004, the mass media cheerleaders tell us AWOL Bush is riding high. Fresh from proving peace and inspections advocates were correct -- that Saddam Hussein posed no threat to Americans -- Bush is riding a wave of faux patriotism and war pride. But that wave can't cover up weakness polls reveal."

Ipsos/Cook reports, "If the election were held today, only 39% of registered voters are sure they would vote for the reelection of George W. Bush, and 34% would definitely vote for someone else, a five-point margin in Bush's favor, in a poll conducted February 18-20 and March 4-6, 2003 among 1,545 registered voters. That is a dramatic decline in Bush's political standing domestically. A year ago, in the first quarter of 2002, Bush enjoyed a 34-point edge, 54%-20%. In January of this year, Bush enjoyed a 10-point edge, 41%-31%. A month ago, in the January 21-February 6 poll, Bush led by 9 points, 41%-32%. It does not look like this has hit bottom. In fact, among 781 registered voters interviewed March 4-6, 38% would definitely vote to re-elect Bush and 37% definitely voting for someone else-a statistical dead heat." Remember, Bush the Smarter only got 37% of the vote in 1992 after soaring to 90% approval after Gulf War I. At this rate, W will lose to the Marijuana Party - how fitting!

The latest Harris Poll is the first to show Bush's approval ratings back to pre-911 levels. In 8/01, Bush's ratings were 52% positive and 43% negative, a net approval of 9%. In 10/01 they peaked at 88%/11%, a net approval of 77%. Now they are down to 52%/46%, for a net approval rating of only 6%. The latest UK poll had Blair's approval rating in the red at -20%. How quickly will Bush catch Blair? Stay tuned!

The Republican media claims Bush is more popular than Mother Theresa, but the facts show Bush is practically tied with any old donkey. According to the LA Times, "Just 45% of registered voters said they are now likely to support Bush for reelection, while 40% said they were inclined to back the Democratic nominee. 15% said they don't now lean in either direction... Republicans say they will back Bush by a stunning 91% to 1%. Almost as emphatically, Democrats now say they'll support their party's nominee by 84% to 9%. Independents split along ideological lines... 32% of moderate-to-liberal independents now prefer the Democrat. Because the moderate independents outnumber the conservatives, slightly more independents overall now say they are inclined to support the Democratic choice. If independents remain so closely divided, that would point toward another tight election in 2004, as top Bush political advisor Karl Rove recently predicted." Get ready for Stolen Election II!

Ron Brownstein reports: "Even after Bush's stern State of the Union address, most Americans remain reluctant to invade Iraq without explicit U.N. authorization, though a narrow majority would support acting with a smaller coalition of willing nations, a Los Angeles Times Poll has found. The survey portrays a nation enormously ambivalent about the prospect of a second Persian Gulf War; it shows Americans to be unconvinced that the evidence thus far justifies an invasion, hesitant to act without more international support, yet convinced war is inevitable and narrowly inclined to trust Bush's judgment about whether and when it should come... his overall job approval rating dropped to 56 percent. That's down 7 percentage points since December, and as low as he's ever received in a Times Poll during his presidency."

On 1-20-03, NY Times political reporter Adam Nagourney declared, "Bush is riding high as he prepares for his re-election campaign. He is a popular Republican president in an increasingly Republican country." After Democrats.com readers sent him their "slightly" different viewpoint, Nagourney has suddenly changed his tune. With the latest NY Times poll showing Bush's approval down to 59%, Nagourney now writes: "Bush's public support has eroded steadily over the last 12 months, with a rising number of Americans expressing discontent both with his economic policies and his handling of foreign affairs" ... Nearly 50% of the public expressed disapproval of how Mr. Bush was handling the economy, while 41% expressed disapproval of his management of foreign policy... Those disapproval figures are the highest they have been since Mr. Bush took office." It's impossible to find ANY Bush policy that Americans support. Bush's trend lines point to receiving LESS than the 37% Poppy got in 1992.

MSNBC's Michael E. Ross writes, "Bush's popularity ratings - once among the highest of any president in the past 60 years - are eroding across the board, according to a new NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll. Bush is losing ground in several key areas, including foreign policy, the economy and his handling of the war on terrorism. And as the escalation of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf continues, the poll finds a growing number of Americans oppose military action to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power... 72% believe Bush should show evidence of Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction, compared with 22% who say he should not. And by a margin of 48% to 24%, the poll indicates that Americans believe the al-Qaida terrorist network, responsible for Sept. 11 attacks, is more a threat to the country than Iraq."

AP reports that the latest CNN-Time poll shows Bush's job approval ratings have dropped to 53%, just 1% above the LOWEST approval figure for his entire Residency (http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm). Amazingly, Bill Clinton's second-term job approval only dropped to 52% right after the Monica Lewinsky story broke in January 1998, and the following week it jumped 16% to 68% (http://www.pollingreport.com/clinton-.htm). So how much coverage did this shocking poll get from CNN and Time? Absolutely none! Karl Rove doesn't want America to know the truth - that Bush has pissed away all of the support from 9-11 - so CNN and Time scrubbed their own poll! Bush's continuing efforts to promote W-ar and tax cuts for the rich will soon drive Bush's ratings to historic lows. Tell the media to report that Bush's approval rating is tanking!

Bush's "approval" rating is down to 58% in the latest Gallup Poll, but that's not the number that matters to political professionals. The important number is his "re-elect", and that stands at a dismal 36%, with 32% "definitely" voting for someone else, and 31% undecided. W's 36% puts him BELOW the 37% of the vote that Poppy got in losing to Bill Clinton in 1992 - the lowest re-election vote in 80 years. W's "re-elect" numbers are dismal, and if it was a Democrat they'd be saying he's "toast." Hey Charlie Cook, Stu Rothenberg, Bill Schneider, etc. - quit hiding Bush's dismal "re-elect" numbers!

"For the first time since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, George W. Bush's approval rating has dropped below the 60% level, now showing 58% of Americans who approve and 37% who disapprove of the way he is handling his job as president. In a Gallup Poll conducted just days before the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush's approval rating reached the lowest of his presidency, with 51% approving and 39% disapproving. After the terrorist attacks, his approval skyrocketed, reaching a record 90% in mid-September 2001. It has gradually declined since then, dropping below 80% for the first time in early March 2002, and dropping below 70% for the first time the following July. By December of last year, it was below the 65% level."

Baltimore Sun reports, Bush "has seen his popularity in MD fall from a sky-high 83% approval rating a year ago to a more pedestrian 55%... When it comes to whether state voters think Bush deserves to be re-elected, just 39% say they would choose him, 45% would choose a nameless 'someone else,' and 16% are undecided. The Maryland Poll shows nearly 50% of the state's voters oppose Bush's apparent plans to wage war against Iraq - with support dropping significantly over the past three months - and a similar % are not optimistic that the US is winning its so-called 'war on terrorism.' State voters, meanwhile, feel increasingly insecure about their financial future - with one in six of those in the work force saying they fear their jobs could be lost in the coming months, a marked increase over a year ago. That includes as many as one in four nonwhite workers. Nearly as many people say that - compared with four years ago - they are worse off economically as say they are better off."

The Dec. 17-18 Time/CNN poll showing Bush's approval at 55% (his lowest since 9/11) was never posted on either the Time or CNN websites . So if you didn't catch it in the print version of Time, here is a scan of that page from the magazine.

LiberalOasis writes, "The current Time magazine offers this from a Dec. 17-18 Time/CNN poll: In general, do you approve or disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job as President? Approve -55%, Disapprove - 37%. That's the lowest approval rating, and the highest disapproval, for Dubya in the Time/CNN poll since 9/11. His approval has sunk 9 points from just one month ago -- a stunning drop considering he's coming off of a big election victory. But amazingly, no other media outlet has picked up on the poll. No wire story. No analysis. No pundits pontificating. Nothing. Not even Time or CNN offers a link to it on their respective web sites. You need to get the print version of Time." Just more evidence that ALL of the corporate media - including AOL/TimeWarner/CNN - is controlled by Karl Rove and the Republicans.

As was the case last summer, prior to 9/11, Bush's job approval ratings now lag behind those of his father, at an equivalent point in their terms. The first Bush, of course, was a one-term President. According to the most recent Gallup Poll,."Bush's current job approval rating stands at 65%, his lowest rating since the Sept.11 terrorist attacks… and 11 points lower than it was just two months ago." Bush's job DISapproval is now up to 28%, up 10% since early July. At the equivalent point in #41's only term, his job approval rating was 76%, with only 16% disapproval. (That fall, Democrats gained 9 seats in the House, and elected Paul Wellstone to the Senate. And two years later, in August of 1992, #41's numbers had collapsed to 39% approval and 54% disapproval, and in November he lost to Bill Clinton with only 37% of the vote.) The Shrub Gap is a concept we invented last summer, to show how #43 lags behind even #41, a one-term President. The Shrub Gap is now -23%.

Since 9-11, the Republican-controlled media has been obsessed with Bush's "approval" ratings. But the statistic that political professionals watch is the "re-elect" number - the percentage of voters who say they would vote to re-elect a politician if the election was held today. Bush's "re-elect" is down to only 41% - which would be considered the certain electoral doom for any other politician. So next time you hear a pollster or pundit say Bush's approval ratings are untouchable, ask them why they are ignoring Bush's dismal 41% "re-elect" number. And remember, Bush I went from 90% approval ratings in January 1991 (during the First Gulf War) - but LOST his re-election with a super-dismal 37%.