Harry Hope wrote:

From NBC News, 10/12/05:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9672058

Bush approval dips below 40 percent

NBC-WSJ poll shows only 28 percent believe U.S. headed in right
direction

By Mark Murray
Political reporter


WASHINGTON -

It has been weeks since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast;
since gas prices began spiking to record highs; and since Cindy
Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, held her antiwar vigil outside
President Bush's Texas ranch.

But, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, the
fortunes of the Bush administration and the Republican Party have not
yet begun to recover.

For the first time in the poll, Bush's approval rating has sunk below
40 percent, while the percentage believing the country is heading in
the right direction has dipped below 30 percent.

In addition, a sizable plurality prefers a Democratic-controlled
Congress, and just 29 percent think Supreme Court nominee Harriet
Miers is qualified to serve on the nation's highest court.

"Any way you slice this data, I think these are just terrible sets of
numbers," said Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted this
survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff.

The poll shows that Bush's approval rating stands at 39 percent, a new
low for the president.

In the last NBC/Wall Street Journal survey, which was released in
mid-September, 40 percent approved of Bush's job performance while 55
percent disapproved.

In addition, just 28 percent believe the country is headed in the
right direction, another all-time low in Bush's presidency.

Strikingly, much has happened in the time between those two polls --
many of them seemingly positive events for the White House.

The president delivered a prime-time speech from New Orleans, in which
he promised to rebuild the Gulf Coast.

He also made several more visits to the region, to examine the damage
caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Furthermore, he saw the Senate confirm John Roberts to the Supreme
Court, and he nominated Miers, his White House counsel, to replace
retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

'Huge question mark' on Miers

The Miers nomination, however, has disappointed some of the
president's conservative supporters, because they say she lacks
judicial experience and a clear conservative record on social issues.

According to the poll, 29 percent say she's qualified to serve on the
Supreme Court, while 24 percent think she's unqualified.

Forty-six percent say they don't know enough about her.

"There is nothing to suggest that people have turned on her," Hart
said.

"But there is just a huge question mark behind her at this stage. She
has to establish her own bona fides."

The poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage
points and which was conducted from Oct. 8-10 of 807 adults, also
finds that strong majorities don't believe that the recent charges
against GOP leaders Tom DeLay of Texas and Bill Frist of Tennessee are
politically motivated.

Sixty-five percent say that DeLay's indictment on charges of illegally
using corporate contributions for political campaigns suggests
potential illegal activity, while 24 percent say the indictment is
politics as usual and has little merit.

(Since his indictment, DeLay stepped down from his leadership position
but still plays a prominent role in the U.S. House of
Representatives.)

Meanwhile, 57 percent say Frist's sale of stock in a company his
family runs -- just before the value of the stock declined --
indicates potential illegal activity, compared with 28 percent who say
the charge has little merit.

48 percent want Democratic-controlled Congress

In addition, with 13 months until the 2006 congressional elections, 48
percent say they prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress, compared
with 39 percent who want the Republicans to control Capitol Hill.

In fact, that nine-point difference is the largest margin between the
parties in the 11 years the NBC/Journal poll has been tracking this
question.

But Hart argues that Democrats aren't necessarily responsible for this
margin.

"It is not that Democrats have done so well," he said.

"It is that people are disgusted."

McInturff puts it this way:

"People are very turned off and unhappy with the state of play in
American politics."

People also seem to be turned off and unhappy with high gas prices.

According to the survey, 69 percent believe the worst is still to come
with energy and fuel prices.

Just 25 percent think the worst is behind us.

Because of this generally sour attitude, the NBC/Journal pollsters
doubt that Bush will be able to climb out of his standing anytime
soon.

"His trampoline [is] made of cement," Hart said.

And one of the articles farther down in this group has a W Post
article re George's last trip to the Gulf in which he had all sorts
of tics, jerks, blinks, hesitations, didn't know what to say without
Karl to prompt him. The swagger is gone; the guy is going NUTS.
He's like Nixon was in the days before he resigned.....