Newsweek: Bush approval at 26 percent

WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bush's public approval rating hit a new low, 26 percent, in the latest Newsweek poll, while Congress' rating was just 25 percent.

The poll, conducted Monday and Tuesday, found a record 65 percent of those surveyed said they disapproved of Bush's performance in office. Almost one-third of Republicans said they disapproved, Newsweek reported Thursday.

The 26 percent figure for Bush is a 2 percent drop since the previous Newsweek poll, conducted in early May.

It puts Bush lower than former President Jimmy Carter, who had an approval rating of 28 percent in June 1979. In the last 35 years, only Richard Nixon had a lower Newsweek approval rating than Bush has now -- 23 percent in January 1974.

A record 73 percent of those polled said they disapproved of Bush's handling of the war in Iraq, while just 23 percent said they approved. Bush also got low marks on the economy, healthcare and immigration.

The poll found that 63 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing -- including 60 percent of Democrats, 67 percent of Republicans and 64 percent of Independents.

The Newsweek poll has a margin of error of 4 percent.