WASHINGTON – President Bush gave last night’s Iraq speech at a time when his job-approval ratings, especially on Iraq, have plummeted to the lowest point yet, a new CBS News poll found.
Americans now disapprove of how Bush is handling Iraq by nearly a 2-1 margin – 61 percent turn thumbs down and just 34 percent approve, the poll found, indicating the war has become a major political liability.
The CBS News poll and others released last night show Bush is being hurt by the prison abuse scandal and the deaths of American troops in Iraq.
Most Americans also disapprove of how Bush is handling his job in general – 52 percent have a negative view while just 41 percent approve, the poll found.
By contrast, a year ago – soon after Bush triumphantly landed on an aircraft carrier to declare an end to “major combat” in Iraq – two-thirds of Americans approved of his job performance.
As a result of his slipping ratings, Bush now trails Democrat John Kerry in the presidential race by 49 to 41 percent – a statistically significant lead – in the CBS poll.
But new ABC and CNN polls also out yesterday portrayed the presidential race as a dead heat even though they, too, found Bush is getting lousy ratings on Iraq and in general.
In the ABC News poll, Bush and Kerry each had 46 percent and independent Ralph Nader had 4 percent. In a two-way race, Kerry leads Bush 49-47.
In the CNN poll, it was Kerry 47 percent, Bush 46 and Nader 4. In a two-way race, Kerry leads Bush 49-47. Both scenarios were statistical ties. The greatest concern for Bush is that there are signs of erosion among his base. His support is down among men, Republicans and conservatives, as well as those who say Iraq is the most important issue in their vote, ABC found.
The biggest concern for Kerry is that in two of the three polls, he isn’t making headway against Bush despite two months of virtually nonstop bad news for the White House. That indicates voters aren’t warming to the Democrat.
The CBS poll found 60 percent of Americans don’t think the Iraq war was worth the costs and that they’re very skeptical that the June 30 handover of power will happen as planned. That suggests Bush stands to gain if it comes off.
In all, 57 percent believe the handover should happen, but only 29 percent think it will happen, the CBS poll found.
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Toll from the polls
CBS poll
* President Bush’s rating on Iraq: 61% negative, 34% positive
* Bush’s job-approval rating: 52% negative, 41% positive
* Should U.S. hand over power to Iraq on June 30? Yes: 57%
* Will the June 30 handover happen? No: 63%
ABC poll
* Bush’s job-approval rating: 50% negative, 47% positive
* Do you approve of Bush’s handling of war on terror? Yes: 58%
* Has Bush made the country safer? Yes: 52%
* Would John Kerry make the country safer? Yes: 39%
The presidential horse race:
CBS: Kerry 49%
Bush 41%
ABC: Kerry 49%
Bush 47%
CNN: Kerry 49%
Bush 47%