Bush Job Performance Continues to Slip; Re-elect Numbers Worsen; 43%-43% Bush vs. any Democratic Contender; Slight Bump in Overall Opinion, New Zogby Poll Reveals

President George W. Bush’s job performance rating has slipped to 52% positive, 48% negative, according to a poll of 1,011 likely U.S. voters by Zogby International. From a post-September 11^th peak of 82%, his rating has slipped steadily with the exception of a slight increase following the official end of the war in Iraq.

Bush Job Performance	Event	Positive %	Negative %
August 16-19, 2003	Current	52	48
July 16-17, 2003	Current	53	46
June 10, 2003	Post Iraqi War	58	41
March 16, 2003	Pre Iraqi War	54	45
September 25, 2002	One year Post 9/11	64	36
September 23, 2001	Post 9/11	82	17
August 27, 2001	Pre 9/11	50	49
April 26, 2001	100 Days in Office	52	44
January 16, 2001	Pre Inauguration	42	36

Date	Re-Elect %	Someone New %
August 16-19, 2003	45	48
July 16-17, 2003	46	47
June 10, 2003	49	38
January 27, 2003	49	41
October 25, 2002	49	35
September 25, 2002	49	38

Date	% Favorable	% Unfavorable
August 16-19, 2003	58	40
July 16-17, 2003	57	42
January 27, 2003	66	33
July 22, 2002	72	25
April 5, 2002	82	17
July 30, 2001	57	36
February 15, 2001	64	14

Just over two in five (43%) likely voters say they would choose President Bush over a Democratic candidate, and a like number (43%) preferred a Democrat if the election were held today, compared to July polling by Zogby International where 48% would choose Bush and 43% would favor any Democrat.

The Zogby America poll involved 1,011 likely voters selected randomly from throughout the 48 contiguous states using listed residential telephone numbers. Polling was conducted from Zogby International’s Call Center in Utica, NY on August 16-19, 2003. The poll has a margin of sampling error of +/- 3.2%.