Fresh poll data, hot off the presses

Dems really should write the White House a big thank you note for making Social Security privatization Bush’s signature domestic policy goal. It just keeps getting worse for the president.

Barely a third of the public approves of the way President Bush is dealing with Social Security and a majority says the more they hear about Bush’s plan to reform the giant retirement system, the less they like it, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

[…]

Thirty-five percent of those surveyed said they approved of the way Bush is handling Social Security, down three points since January and the lowest level of support for Bush on this issue ever recorded in Post-ABC polls.

Bush has made Social Security reform the cornerstone of his domestic policy agenda. But his efforts to win public support for his proposals to change the system appear to be having just the opposite effect, according to the poll.

Nearly six in 10 — 58 percent — say they are more inclined to oppose administration’s reform plans as they learn more about it. Only a third say they are more receptive to Bush’s proposals as more details become available.

Hardly the kind of numbers that will help convince wavering members of Congress to jump on the Privatization Express.