Bush approval rating 27 percent, poll says

PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Twenty-seven percent of Americans approve of the job George Bush is doing as president, the lowest rating of his tenure, a Gallup poll indicates.

Bush's approval rating is down 4 percentage points from the 31 percent he had in a Gallup Poll taken before the financial crisis buffeting Wall Street intensified, pollsters said.

The latest poll, released Tuesday, was conducted before the House voted against a $700 billion plan to bail out U.S. financial markets

The timing of the decline indicates the credit crisis and government's response to it are responsible for the low showing, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said. Results indicate only 28 percent of respondents approved and 68 percent disapproved of Bush's response to the financial crisis.

Among Republicans, Bush's job rating fell to 64 percent from 71 percent in a previous poll, Gallup said. Among self-identified conservatives, Bush's rating dropped sharply, from 59 percent to 47 percent, between the latest poll and one conducted two weeks ago.

The latest Gallup results are based on nationwide telephone interviews Friday and Saturday with 1,011 adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.