Harry Krause wrote:
Released: October 04, 2005

Bush Job Approval Stuck at 43%-Weak Rebound; Effects of Katrina, War
Felt in Numbers; Public Questions Disbursement of Katrina Monies;
Hurricane Rita, War on Terror Bush's Only Strong Suit
-New Zogby America Poll

President Bush's job approval rating has remained in the low 40s despite
a more favorable public rating of his handling of Hurricane Rita than
Hurricane Katrina, the storm that demolished his approval rating nearly
a month ago.

The Zogby America survey of 1004 likely voters, conducted from September
29 through October 2, 2005, has a margin of error of +/-3.2 percentage
points.

The survey finds that, despite a more favorable rating for Hurricane
Rita preparation and leadership, President Bush continues to be viewed
in negative terms for the government's performance during the aftermath
of Hurricane Katrina. It also finds that his signature strong issue,
the War on Terror, has ticked downward slightly, and his handling of the
war is now approved by a minority of voters.

In a sign of ongoing difficulty for the administration, however, fewer
Americans say the nation is heading in the right direction than a month
ago, with just 40% saying the nation is on the right track-versus 54%
who say it is headed in the wrong direction, a number that has ticked
upwards a point since last month's poll.

President Bush's Job Approval Failing to Gain Traction

President Bush's 43% approval rating marks a slight increase from last
month's 41%, but a significant decline from post-re-election numbers
posted as recently as this February.

Just flushing my email before turning in and I came across this in my
spam file:

I don't know why they think I'm a Democrat, but the rest of the
propaganda makes amusing reading:

Dear Chuck,

With George Bush dropping in the polls and Democrats like you ensuring
that the DSCC will have the resources to win the tight races, it's no
wonder that Republicans are having a tough time fielding top-tier
candidates in key states.


In the last week, two top Republican candidate recruitment targets in
two "red" states announced that they would not run against two
dedicated Democratic incumbent senators. In West Virginia, Rep. Shelly
Moore Capito declined to enter the race against Sen. Robert Byrd, one
of the Democratic Party's most important voices and a man rightly
called "the conscience of the Senate." Daughter of a popular governor
and a three-term congresswoman, Capito was widely expected to enter the
race.


The same is true of Gov. John Hoeven in North Dakota. On Friday, he
announced that he would not challenge Democratic incumbent Sen. Kent
Conrad. Hoeven is a popular governor in a state that voted solidly for
Bush. But he resisted Karl Rove's personal efforts to recruit him to
run against Conrad, a key Democratic leader on budget and agricultural
issues. Hoeven was considered so important to the Republicans' chances
that Rove interrupted his duties overseeing the recovery efforts in the
Gulf Coast to travel to North Dakota in a last ditch effort to
personally persuade the governor to run. Just a few days later, Hoeven
announced that he would not be a candidate.


This isn't the first time the Republicans have had difficulty
convincing their top choices to enter a 2006 Senate election. In
Michigan, New York, Nebraska, and Florida, Republicans failed to
recruit top-tier challengers to sitting Democratic senators.


Why?


For one, it looks like George Bush and his rubber-stamp Republican
allies in Congress are imploding. The country has rejected Bush's rosy
proclamations about Iraq and is concerned about the ongoing violence.
Voters across America are disgusted by the cronyism and corruption that
seem to be running rampant in the Republican Party these days.


Moreover, the Republicans are simply scared of you. Thanks to the
support of committed Democrats across the country, the DSCC has beaten
the Republicans in fundraising so far this year. We don't know the
final numbers for the third quarter yet, but I am confident that we
will keep pace with them once again. That means that we will be there
every step of the way providing more money and material support than
anyone else directly to the Democratic Senate campaigns that need it
most. Capito and Hoeven know that even if they were to run competitive
campaigns, the DSCC will always be there to make the difference in the
last few weeks of the campaign, as long as we can continue to count on
your support.


There's a saying in Washington that you can't win elections in the off
year, but you sure can lose them. Right now, it looks like the
Republicans are losing. Badly. Now we just have to keep it up.


Sincerely,





J.B. Poersch
Executive Director


P.S. You can always follow the latest twists and turns of the campaign
to elect a Democratic Senate with the DSCC's interactive map, available
on our website.


http://www.dscc.org/2006races