Ain’t It the Pits

[[P O L L S]] * “These numbers are scary. We’ve lost every advantage we’ve ever had,” says GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio, looking closely at the results of a new AP-Ipsos survey that shows a scant 36 percent of the American public approving of George W. Bush’s job performance (“his lowest-ever rating in AP-Ipsos polling”) and only 35 percent endorsing the prez’s handling of the worsening Iraq war. That same survey finds that, by a 49-33 percent margin, the public would prefer to see a Democratic Congress, rather than a Republican one in the future--bad news for GOP candidates hoping to make their marks in November’s midterm elections. That 16-point advantage for Democrats, the Associated Press explains, “is the largest the party has enjoyed in AP-Ipsos polling.”

Meanwhile, the latest FOX News poll shows Bush’s job approval having “slipped a couple of points,” with just 36 percent of Americans saying they favor what he’s doing in the Oval Office and 53 percent disapproving. Interestingly, the survey also shows the prez’s approval dropping to 74 percent among Republicans; they had previously supported their man’s efforts by margins of 80 percent or more. Democrats are even more clearly opposed, with a mere 8 percent giving Bush favorable ratings.

It will be interesting to see whether these numbers fall further after the news sinks in about Bush having authorized the leaking of intelligence information on Iraq to reporters.

READ MORE: “The President Is Trying to Get Impeached,” by Cenk Uygur (The Huffington Post).