Look out below

At first, it was just one poll. Newsweek showed Bush’s job approval rating slipping to 45%, the lowest it’s been in nearly a year and the second lowest in a Newsweek poll since Bush’s presidency began in 2001. Then, a CBS poll reinforced the slide, showing Bush’s support dropping to 43%, a six-point drop in a month.

Well, at least the White House can count on Gallup for good news, right? Wrong.

President Bush’s approval rating has fallen to 45%, the lowest point of his presidency, according to a new USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll.

The finding, in a poll of 1,001 adults Monday through Wednesday, is a dip from 52% in a poll taken last week. Bush’s previous lowest rating, 46%, was recorded last May.

I wonder if the Republican who wrote the memo describing the Terri Schiavo case as “a great political issue” has lost his or her job yet.

The new poll found the largest drop for Bush came among men, self-described conservatives and churchgoers.

In other words, Bush has lost support among those who’ve historically stuck with him the most.

I continue to believe poll results like these matter, if for no other reason that they bolster Dems’ opposition. Unfortunately, Dems on the Hill seem more inclined to cave to GOP hardball when they see the public moving in the Republicans’ direction. With Bush sliding, and widespread discontent with the GOP Congress, the Dems’ collective backbone should be plenty firm.