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Bush's ratings sink over war, court
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-04 09:09
US President Bush's job approval has fallen to the lowest level of his
presidency amid worries over the Iraq war, a fumbled Supreme Court nomination,
the indictment of one White House aide and uncertainty about another.
Concerned that the president has lost his footing, some influential
Republicans are urging Bush to shake up his staff and bring in new blood.
A new AP-Ipsos poll found Bush's approval rating was at 37 percent, compared
with 39 percent a month ago. About 59 percent of those surveyed said they
disapproved.
The intensity of disapproval is the strongest to date, with 42 percent now
saying they "strongly disapprove" of how Bush is handling his job — twice as
many as the 20 percent who said they "strongly approve."
A year after his re-election, Bush's second term has been marred by rising
U.S. casualties in Iraq, a failed attempt to restructure Social Security,
Hurricane Katrina missteps, rising fuel costs and his forced withdrawal of the
Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers.
In a case involving the exposure of a CIA agent married to an Iraq war
critic, Vice President Dick Cheney's former aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby,
pleaded not guilty on Thursday in federal court to charges of obstruction of
justice, perjury and lying to investigators. The case casts a continuing cloud
over Cheney and keeps Bush's closest adviser, Karl Rove, in legal jeopardy.
Republicans are worrying about losing their majorities in Congress in the
2006 elections and hope Bush can reverse his slide.
Several senior Republicans who are close to the White House and Rove say
there has been a lot of talk inside and outside the White House about the need
for him to leave, but they're picking up no indication from him or his
associates that it's going to happen — at least anytime soon.
Neither Bush nor Rove has seemed to get the message, the Republicans say.
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