President Bush's approval rating has slipped to 48 percent, its lowest point during his presidency, in a poll conducted for Newsweek by the Gallup Organization, the magazine said Saturday.
Asked whether they approve or disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job, 48 percent approved, down from 57 percent in the Newsweek poll Oct. 19. Those who disapproved totaled 36 percent, and those who didn't know made up 16 percent in the poll reported in Newsweek's Nov. 5 issue.Asked about Bush's handling of U.S. economic conditions, 56 percent disapproved and 33 percent approved, Newsweek said.
Only 19 percent said they trust Bush most to set the course for the nation's economic policy. The other choices in the poll were congressional Republicans (21 percent) and congressional Democrats (36 percent).
Newsweek said Gallup interviewed 753 American adults by telephone Thursday and Friday in a sampling that generally should have a margin of error no larger than 4 percentage points.