Bush's Job-Approval Numbers Plummet Amid Worsening Iraq Situation

President Bush's confidence in his ability to weather the storm surrounding the prisoner abuse scandal and the increasing criticism of his Iraq strategy appears to be dwindling, as his job-approval numbers have sunk to all-time lows.

The president's usually sunny campaign advisers are now acknowledging that the months of setbacks in Iraq are taking their toll, with a majority of Americans saying that the invasion of Iraq was not worth the mounting cost. Despite this, Mr. Bush remains committed to his strategy, repeating his disgust with the abuses and then shifting the focus to his broader goals in the war on terrorism. His advisers believe that changing his tone on the campaign trail is not an option, and instead, he is following a script drafted by himself and Chief Political Adviser Karl Rove.

However, the president's stance is being met with growing criticism from both within his own party and from his Democratic opponent, Senator John Kerry, who has called for greater United Nations participation in Iraq and has endorsed Mr. Bush's request for $25 billion in additional financing.

Meanwhile, polls have shown that Mr. Bush's approval ratings have reached historic lows, with a majority of Americans saying that the war in Iraq was not worth going to war for. Public dissatisfaction with the situation in the United States is also on the rise, with only 33% of respondents in the Pew poll saying they were satisfied with the way things were going in the country and 61% saying they were dissatisfied.

Key Takeaways:

President Bush's job-approval numbers have sunk to all-time lows, with a majority of Americans saying that the invasion of Iraq was not worth the mounting cost.
A majority of Americans (51%) now disapprove of the president's handling of his job, while only 46% approve, according to the Gallup poll.
Senator John Kerry has endorsed Mr. Bush's request for $25 billion in additional financing, but has criticized the president's stance on the prisoner abuse scandal.
The president's campaign advisers are acknowledging that the months of setbacks in Iraq are taking their toll, but still believe that changing his tone on the campaign trail is not an option.
Public dissatisfaction with the situation in the United States is on the rise, with only 33% of respondents in the Pew poll saying they were satisfied with the way things were going in the country and 61% saying they were dissatisfied.
A majority of Americans (54%) now say that the war in Iraq was not worth going to war for, according to the Gallup poll.

Statistics:

46% of Americans approve of the president's handling of his job, according to the Gallup poll (May 7-9).
51% of Americans disapprove of the president's handling of his job, according to the Gallup poll (May 7-9).
33% of respondents in the Pew poll say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the country, while 61% say they are dissatisfied (May 3-9).
54% of Americans say the war in Iraq was not worth going to war for, according to the Gallup poll (May 7-9).
44% of Americans say the war in Iraq was worth going to war for, according to the Gallup poll (May 7-9).
41% of Americans approve of the president's handling of the situation in Iraq, while 58% disapprove, according to the Gallup poll (May 7-9).

Sources:

Gallup Poll: Conducted May 7-9, phone survey of 1,003 adults nationwide, margin of sampling error plus or minus three percentage points.
Pew Research Center: Conducted May 3-9, phone survey of 1,800 adults nationwide, margin of sampling error plus or minus three percentage points.