And Then There Were Six

[[P O L L S]] * Two months ago, I reported on a SurveyUSA study which found that, while Bush’s popularity was declining on a nationwide basis, it still remained high in Idaho (59 percent). Since then, the state-by-state breakdowns have changed somewhat. According to a new SurveyUSA poll, the prez’s general job approval rating now stands at 38 percent (the fifth national assessment this week showing Bush’s support having fallen below 40 percent), with his strongest standing in Utah, rather than Idaho. The breakdown of where he remains most and least favored looks like this:

Most Popular
Utah: 61 percent approve, 36 percent disapprove
Idaho: 55 percent approve, 44 percent disapprove
Wyoming: 54 percent approve, 44 percent disapprove
Alaska: 52 percent approve, 44 percent disapprove
Nebraska: 52 percent approve, 45 percent disapprove

Least Popular
Massachusetts: 28 percent approve, 68 percent disapprove
Vermont: 29 percent approve, 69 percent disapprove
Rhode Island: 29 percent approve, 70 percent disapprove
New York: 30 percent approve, 66 percent disapprove
Illinois and Connecticut (tied): 32 percent approve, 66 percent disapprove

As Steve Benen notes at The Carpetbagger Report, “One interesting angle to this poll ... is that the top five, instead of just being Bush’s strongest states, are practically the only states where Bush remains strong at all. In May, Bush was above 50 percent in 13 states. By September, that number had fallen to 10 states. In this poll, as Kos noted, Bush is above 50 percent in only six states (Alaska, Idaho, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Utah, and Wyoming). Moreover, Bush has consistently relied on the South to bolster his national numbers. But if you define the South as the 11 states of the old Confederacy, Bush’s approval rating now tops the 50 percent mark in zero southern states.”