Well, well, well: George W. Bush is the first incumbent president to drop to below 50 percent job approval one month after being re-elected. And only 36 percent of Americans think Donald Rumseld should stay on as Defense secretary, while 51 percent, an all-time high, say it was a mistake to go into Iraq.
These would be the findings of the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll. And if Gallup is reporting this about a GOP administration, well, it must be bad.
What was that thoery about the election coming one or two months too soon for Kerry to win? :/
Link
Fifty-two percent of respondents to a new poll think Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should resign amid recent criticism in Congress over his handling of the war in Iraq....
The secretary's approval rating has fallen from 71 percent in April 2003 at the height of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq to 41 percent in the new survey.
As for Bush, 49 percent of respondents said they approved of the job the president is doing. That number is down from his November approval rating of 55 percent. Bush is the first incumbent president to have an approval rating below 50 percent one month after winning re-election. The question had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Although some groups have questioned the validity of voting in Ohio and other states, a large majority -- 77 percent -- of poll respondents indicated they thought the overall presidential election was fair. Nineteen percent said they thought incidents of fraud aided Bush's re-election.
For the first time, a majority of 51% said they disapprove of the decision to go to war in Iraq. 58% said they disapprove of the way the United States has handled the Iraq situation over the past few months.
Sorta better news for Bush on domestic issues:
One of the top items on the president's second-term agenda is making tax cuts passed during his first term permanent. Just over half -- 52 percent -- of respondents said Congress should side with the president, while 40 percent said the cuts should be rolled back. The question had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
A large majority of respondents said the U.S. tax code needs to be fixed, though they varied when asked by how much. Although 11 percent said the system is fine, the 89 percent of those who did not broke down into those who said a complete overhaul is needed (24 percent), major changes are needed (35 percent) and only minor changes are needed (29 percent). The question had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, and answer percentages were rounded.
On another of Bush's hot-button issues, Social Security, the respondents were divided (48-48) on whether workers should be allowed to set aside some of their earnings in private stock or bond accounts. The question had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Sample size: 1002; MoE 4.5