Confidence in Bush Slips Further

MSNBC -- Discontent with Bush’s efforts to revive the economy rose from 53 percent in May to 62 percent, while 72 percent — including 52 percent of Republicans — said the president was not doing enough to deal with the nation’s growing health care problems.

Daily violence since Bush announced an end to major combat in Iraq in March also appeared to contribute to a steady slide in public confidence in the war. Seventy-five percent said the military effort was going “very well” or “fairly well,” compared with 93 percent the last time Pew asked that question, in mid-April.

In the April survey, the proportion who said the war was going “very well” was 61 percent; in the new survey, it was only 23 percent. The proportion who said it was going only “fairly well” jumped from 32 percent to 52 percent.

And almost all the rest moved into the “not well” camp, which rose from 4 percent in April to 21 percent this month. During the war, no more than 10 percent took a negative view of the military situation in Iraq.

While former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has captured headlines recently — raising $7.5 million in three months and finishing first in an unofficial Internet “primary” — only 37 percent of the subset of 905 registered voters in the survey said they had heard of him, and only 32 percent of those said there was a chance they would vote for him.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee in 2000, had the highest name recognition of the candidates, at 83 percent. Of those voters, 45 percent also said there was a chance they would vote for him.

Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, the former House Democratic leader, was known to 75 percent of the registered voters, and 45 percent of them said they might vote for him.

In fact, the Democrat who commands the most support is not running. Former Vice President Al Gore led the pack with 47 percent saying they might vote for him.