- WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The percentage
of registered voters who say they would support President Bush in 2004
fell below 50 percent for the first time, according to a new CNN/USA TODAY/Gallup
poll, which finds more Americans concerned about the economy.
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- Two-thirds of those who responded to the poll, released
Thursday, describe current economic conditions as poor, a 10-point increase
since December. Optimism about the future of the economy also dropped 10
points during that time.
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- Asked their choice for president, 47 percent of the registered
voters polled said they would support Bush in 2004 -- compared with 51
percent in December. About 39 percent said they would support the Democratic
candidate, compared with 37 percent in December.
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- Still, a majority of those polled, 57 percent, said they
approved of the way Bush is handling the job of president. That Bush approval
rating is the lowest since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
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- The poll -- based on telephone interviews with 1,004
adult Americans between February 24 and 26 -- also found that support for
sending U.S. troops to Iraq remains steady at 59 percent. Public attitudes,
however, are likely to be shaped by the events of the next week or so as
indicated by the respondents' answers to other questions. Nearly half of
all Americans say they may change their minds on Iraq; about a third said
they are committed to war.
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- The poll comes as Bush continues to lobby the U.N. Security
Council to pass another resolution declaring that Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein has missed his last chance to disarm. And the president has made
several speeches in recent weeks, emphasizing his concern about the economy
and his administration's determination to strengthen it.
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- The poll numbers suggest Bush has further to go in convincing
Americans that he can turn the economy around. About 45 percent of those
polled said they favor Bush's economic plan, while 40 percent said they
oppose it, and 15 percent described themselves as unsure.
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- On Iraq, the support for invading that country seemed
to hinge on several factors. One example: Forty percent of those polled
said they would support an invasion of Iraq with U.S. forces only if the
United Nations approves another U.S. resolution against Iraq. And support
for an invasion drops significantly if Saddam destroys missiles cited by
U.N. weapons inspectors, falling from 71 percent to 33 percent.
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- As for Saddam's recent challenge to Bush to join him
in a debate, poll respondents left no doubt about who they thought would
win. Three-quarters of respondents said Bush would win a debate.
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- The poll has a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage
points.
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