Poll finds Bush's job approval at 50%

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Poll finds Bush's job approval at 50%

US President Bush's job approval rating is sagging, and in several other categories he is at or near the lowest point of his presidency, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll finds.

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US President Bush's job approval rating is sagging, and in several other categories he is at or near the lowest point of his presidency, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll finds.

As the war in Iraq drags on, the country is nearly split over the president's leadership: 50% approve of the job he is doing, and 47% disapprove.

That equals the lowest approval and highest disapproval of his presidency, which occurred in late September, when the post-combat phase of the Iraq operation took a turn for the worse.

"In the coming election, Bush will be challenged on his Iraq polices and have to defend the effectiveness of the actions he's taken," says Merle Black, a political scientist at Emory University in Atlanta. "Right now, it's very dicey."

A drop in approval by women was a key factor. A month ago, 53% of women approved of the overall job Bush was doing. Now, 44% approve. Support by men fell from 60% to 56%.

Independents, the voters who can swing close elections, are becoming more critical, too. Bush's approval in that group is down to 42% from 49% a month ago.

Registered voters who say they will vote for Bush's re-election, 44% of those polled, are about equal to the 43% who say they won't. One in eight are undecided.

Keeping a president's job approval above 50% is critical in any White House. Every president who averaged 50% or better in the year of his re-election contest won a second term. Every president whose average fell below 50% during that year lost.

Better economic news in October helped boost Bush's ratings a bit then, but increased violence in Iraq this month has pushed the economy out of the headlines and raised further questions about the effectiveness of Bush's policies.

Source: Agencies

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