Minnesota Poll: Bush Approval Rating at 49% [View All]

[dflprincess]

From today's Minneapolis Star Tribune

http://www.startribune.com/stories/784/4093170.html

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Minnesota Poll: Economy takes its toll on Bush
President Bush's job approval rating in Minnesota has tumbled back to prewar levels, and his stewardship of the nation's economy is the biggest reason.

A new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll found Bush's job approval rating stands at 49 percent, down from 63 percent in April, when Minnesotans, along with the rest of the nation, rallied behind a president leading a nation in wartime. Bush's approval rating now is 1 point below the rating he received in February, but far lower than his high of 87 percent after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

As it has been throughout his presidency, Bush's approval rating is lower in Minnesota than it is nationwide. An ABC News poll this week found that 56 percent of Americans approved of the way he is handling the job of president.

As the presidential campaign gathers momentum, the new poll numbers potentially pose a peril for Bush. Support for his performance is relatively weaker among women, and Bush appears to have alienated a substantial number of the conservatives who form the core of his support.

However, the new poll shows "it appears the state has returned to its cultural base," according to poll director Rob Daves. Forty-seven percent of those polled identified themselves as DFLers or as leaning toward the DFL Party, while 38 percent said they were Republican or leaned toward that party.