poll info

Newsweek flash: Bush approval 38%, 57% have lost confidence in U.S. to deal with disaster
RAW STORY
From a poll running in Monday's editions of Newsweek, acquired by RAW STORY.
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FIFTY-SEVEN PERCENT OF AMERICANS HAVE LOST CONFIDENCE IN GOVERNMENT TO DEAL WITH ANOTHER NATURAL DISASTER; 52% DO NOT TRUST PRESIDENT TO MAKE RIGHT DECISIONS IN A CRISIS

BUSH'S JOB APPROVAL AT RECORD LOW: 38 PERCENT
SIXTY-SIX PERCENT DISSATISFIED WITH DIRECTION OF COUNTRY
SIXTY-FIVE PERCENT OF MINORITIES BELIEVE RACE WAS THE REASON FOR SLOW RESPONSE: 47 PERCENT SAY 'MAJOR REASON;'
64 PERCENT OF WHITES SAY IT WAS NOT A REASON AT ALL
New York-President George W. Bush's approval ratings have fallen across the board in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and a seemingly flawed government response to the disaster, according to the latest Newsweek Poll. Bush's job-approval rating dropped to 38 percent, the lowest ever in the Newsweek Poll. Sixty-six percent of those polled say they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time; just 28 percent are satisfied, another record low in the poll.
A 52-percent majority of Americans say they do not trust President Bush to make the right decisions during a domestic crisis, 45 percent do. The same number-52 percent-do not trust him to make the right decisions during an international crisis, again, 45 percent do. In addition, 57 percent of Americans say the slow response in New Orleans has caused them to lose confidence in the government to deal with another major natural disaster, 41 percent say it has not; 47 percent say it has made them lose confidence in government to prevent another 9/11-type attack; half (50%) say it has not, the poll shows.
The president's ratings on issues having little if anything to do with domestic disasters also declined. Bush's approval on handling terrorism and homeland security is 46 percent, a five-point drop from the August 2-4, 2005 Newsweek Poll. For the first time in the Newsweek Poll, more Americans disapprove of Bush's handling of terrorism and homeland security (48%). And almost half (49%) of all those polled say taking military action against Iraq two years ago was not the right thing to do; 46 percent say it was. This is the first time ever in the Newsweek Poll that more Americans have said going to war was not the right thing to do than said it was.
A plurality of Americans also rates the federal government's response to the problems caused by Hurricane Katrina as poor (40%). Thirty-two percent say the Feds' response was "only fair;" and 21 percent believe the response has been "good," the poll shows. State and local governments did not fare better: 35 percent say they did a poor job and 34 percent say they did a fair job.
However, views are starkly different when examined by political party. Fifty-three percent of Democrats polled say the federal government did a poor job vs. just 19 percent of Republicans. Thirty-seven percent of Republicans believe the federal government did a good job and 11 percent believe it did an excellent job. The Democrats are more forgiving of local and state governments, though not as forgiving as the Republicans are of the Feds. Twenty-four percent of Democrats believe the state and local governments did a good job and four percent say an excellent job. Thirty percent of Democrats believe the local and state governments did a poor job, vs. 43 percent of Republicans; 35 percent of Dems and 29 percent of Republicans say they did a fair job........................