Bush, Santorum get low ratings in poll of voters

[Judi Lynn]

Bush, Santorum get low ratings in poll of voters
Survey also finds dramatic drop in Iraq war support
Friday, October 07, 2005

By James O'Toole, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A new poll of Pennsylvania voters found plunging approval ratings for President Bush, the war in Iraq and Sen. Rick Santorum, the Republican whose re-election bid figures to be one of the premier races in the country next year.

The survey, conducted by Quinnipiac University, depicted the president and Mr. Santorum with their lowest overall approval ratings since the school's researchers began polling in the state several years ago. The poll also showed that a strong majority felt that it had been a mistake to go to war in Iraq, a dramatic drop in support over the past year.

In a trial heat against his anticipated opponent next year, state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr., Mr. Santorum trailed by the daunting margin of 52 to 34 percent.

More than three in five of the voters surveyed, 61 percent, said they disapproved of Mr. Bush's performance in office while 37 percent approved and just 3 percent were undecided. A little more than a month before the 2004 election, when Mr. Bush narrowly lost Pennsylvania to the Democratic nominee, U.S. Sen. John Kerry, the state's voters were about evenly split on Bush's job performance.
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05280/584293.stm