April 25, 2005
President Bush’s ratings in Arizona have dropped to their lowest level since he assumed office, according to a recent poll.
On key issues such as the federal deficit, rising health care costs, Social Security policies and the U.S. trade balance, close to or more than half of Arizonans who participated in the poll rate his performance as "poor," according to Behavior Research Center of Arizona’s survey.
Forty-one percent of the respondents rate Bush’s overall performance in the White House favorably, a drop from 53 percent in January, while 38 percent say he is doing a poor job, an increase from 28 percent in January. About 19 percent characterize his performance as "fair," compared with 16 percent in January.
Retirees have become among the most negative in their assessment of Bush policies, particularly about economic issues such as the federal deficit, health care costs, the U.S. trade balance and the Social Security system.
The findings are based on a telephone survey of 682 adults across Arizona from April 12-17.
The poll has an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
