US President George W. Bush's approval rating hit the lowest level since he took office and he might lose presidency to a Democratic candidate if the election were held now, according to a poll released Monday.
US President George W. Bush's approval rating hit the lowest level since he took office and he might lose presidency to a Democratic candidate if the election were held now, according to a poll released Monday.
Bush's job approval was 50 percent in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, compared with 71 percent in late March and 60 percent in early August.
The survey indicated that Americans were divided over the war in Iraq, with only half saying that it was worth fighting, down from 63 percent in late August. Nearly 90 percent of those polled said they did not think the war was over, up from 63 percent one month ago.
The survey also found that Bush was running slightly behind two Democratic presidential candidates and had only a narrow lead over other candidates.
Wesley Clark, the former NATO commander who joined the presidential race only last week, would beat Bush by 48 percent to 46 percent if the 2004 election were held today, the poll showed. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts would win 48 to 47 percent.
Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean and Representative Dick Gephardt of Missouri were all close to Bush in the poll, in which 1,003 adults were questioned by telephone on Sept. 19-21.
The margin of error of the poll was three percentage points.