Nearly three out of four of those surveyed say they have a favorable opinion of Laura Bush, according to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll.

But, fewer than half who took part say they have a favorable opinion of President George Bush and his top aides, about the same number who said that last summer, the poll found.

The telephone poll of 1,003 U.S. adults was conducted Dec. 16-18 and has a sampling error of 3 percentage points.

Asked their opinions of the president, 46 percent said they were favorable, a figure statistically equivalent to the 48 percent who gave that response in a July 25-28 poll.

In the latest survey, Bush earned an unfavorable rating from 53 percent of respondents.