Approval of president drifts downward, but still high

RICHARD BENEDETTO, GANNETT NEWS SERVICE

Originally published Sunday, March 10, 2002

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's job approval rating has fallen below 80 percent for the first time since Sept. 11, a Gallup Poll shows.

The poll puts Bush's job approval at 77 percent, down from 81 percent one week ago and 13 percentage points below the high of 90 percent he scored the first week after the attacks. Overall, 18 percent disapprove of the job he is doing, or fewer than one in five.

While the president's rating is still high -- more than three of four surveyed said they approve of the job Bush is doing -- the decline from the 80s suggests that many Americans may now be judging his performance on issues other than the war on terrorism. The economy is one of them.

The poll also suggests that many Americans may be returning to their partisan leanings after showing a united front for six months. Bush's lowest scores come from Democrats.

The March 4-7 poll of 1,006 adults has an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.

The poll was taken during a week in which Americans saw U.S. troops in Afghanistan suffer their largest number of combat casualties since the war began. It also came against a backdrop of increased violence in the Middle East and harsh criticism of Bush at home and abroad for his decision to place up to 30 percent tariffs on imported steel.

At the same time, debate has been sharpening in Congress over the next steps the war on terrorism should take and whether it is wise to expand U.S. military efforts into nations such as Iraq, Georgia, Somalia and the Philippines.

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