War Room - Salon.com

Monday, Jan 22, 2007 09:48 EST

From bad to worse

On the eve of the State of the Union, a new poll is nothing but grim for the president.

By Tim Grieve

Bad news for George W. Bush: He'll deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday night at what the Washington Post calls the "weakest point" of his presidency. According to a new Post/ABC News poll, the president's approval rating now stands at just 33 percent -- tied with the lowest it has ever been for him. Fifty-one percent of Americans now say they "strongly disapprove" of the way the president is doing his job; only 17 percent say they "strongly approve."

Worse news for George W. Bush: He won't be talking much about the one issue voters want to hear discussed. The White House has been saying that Bush's speech will focus on domestic issues. According to the Post/ABC News poll, 48 percent of Americans say the war in Iraq is the issue they want Bush and Congress to be dealing with this year -- and "no other issue rises out of single digits."

Even worse news for George W. Bush: Talking about the war doesn't seem to help him. According to the Post/ABC News poll, 65 percent of Americans now oppose the idea of sending more troops to Iraq -- a four-point increase in Americans' disapproval since Bush unveiled his plan earlier this month.