We posted a brief notice on the new Pew poll earlier, which showed the race in a dead heat. But it’s worth calling attention to Bush’s approval ratings in that poll which are so bad as to make Bush’s terrible ratings in the latest CBS/NYT poll look robust by comparison.
Bush’s overall approval rating in the poll is 44 percent, just one point above the worst ever recorded for Bush in this poll And very inauspicious for an incumbent seeking re-election, of course,
But it is his ratings in specific areas like the economy, Iraq and foreign policy that are truly remarkable. They are all under 40 percent (!) and the worst ever recorded for Bush in this poll: 38 percent on the economy; 37 percent on Iraq and also 37 percent on foreign policy.
And let’s not forget handling “terrorist threats”, his best and perhaps only area of strength. He receives his worst rating ever in this area as well: 49 percent, putting him below the 50 percent level even in his strongest area.
If Pew is accurately capturing voters’ assessment of the job Bush has been doing, it’s going to be quite difficult for him to convince these same voters to stay the course and keep him in office.