President's approval rating hits a new low of 32 percent
President's approval rating hits a new low of 32 percent Tuesday, April 25, 2006 STAR-LEDGER WIRE SERVICES
WASHINGTON -- President Bush's public approval rating has fallen to 32 percent, a new low for his presidency, a CNN poll showed yesterday.
The survey also showed that 60 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job.
Bush's poll numbers have languished below 40 percent in the last couple of months, hit by grow ing public opposition to the Iraq war, his support for a now-aban doned plan for a Dubai firm to take over major U.S. port operations and American anger over gas prices, now topping $3 a gallon at the pump.
Continuing fallout from the Bush administration's mishandling of the initial response to Hurricane Katrina also has hurt his popularity.
Bush's approval rating as measured by CNN's poll dropped from 36 percent in March. His lowest previous job performance measure has been 32 percent, in a Fox News poll this month.
Bush has launched a shakeup of his White House staff in an effort to revive his popularity and stave off concerns of fellow Republicans that they could lose control of both houses of Congress in the November midterm elections.
Bush's response to the gas crisis has been to warn Americans to ex pect a tough summer, vow that price gouging will not be tolerated and try to promote energy alternatives that will take years to get to consumers.
On the issue of Iraq, however, Bush appears to be standing firm.
Before the CNN poll results were released yesterday, Bush said that while some missteps have been made in Iraq, his decision to send in American troops to topple Saddam Hussein was the right call.
"On the big decisions of sending the troops in, I'd have done it again," Bush told a questioner after a speech on immigration in Irvine, Calif.
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