Diageo and The Hotline are the latest organizations to release polling for the month of October, and their survey finds the following:
The new Diageo/Hotline Poll of 500 registered voters, conducted by Financial Dynamics with analysis by Ed Reilly (D) and Ed Rollins (R), found 60% of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction, with only 26% saying the country is headed in the right direction. Bush’s job approval also fell to 41%, an eightpoint drop since July and the lowest approval in the history of this poll.
Most Americans think Bill Clinton did a better job appointing officials than George W. Bush (52% to 32%). Specifically, 47% of Americans think Bush chose Harriet Miers primarily because of personal ties, while only 15% thought she was chosen for her quality and experience. By comparison, only 26% of Americans think Bush appointed John Roberts to the Supreme Court because of “personal ties.�
Despite this growing skepticism towards Bush, there has been no major shift in support for Congressional Democrats over the past three months. When asked about generic party support for Congressional elections, Democrats have a nine-point edge over Republicans (40% to 31%), but Democratic support has only increased one point since July.
Further analysis of the poll is available here at my blog, Basie!.