The slide in Bush’s approval ratings is almost entirely due to Republicans’ losing faith, according to the Washington Post poll:
Bush’s political standing has been weakened by an erosion in support among independents and by signs of potential disaffection among his typically rock-solid Republican base. Democrats continue to give the president low marks across the board.
A month ago Bush’s job approval rating stood at 51 percent, and virtually all of the decline since then is attributable to a drop of 7 percentage points among Republicans.
Interesting. I wonder which Republicans and why. My hunch: Bush is seeing the support of libertarians and fiscal conservatives wane. And with his expansion of the nanny-state and huge spending increases, you can see why. But Kerry still cannot make the sell. By the way, I’m not too impressed with the Zogby poll showing Kerry winning in many battleground states. It’s an online poll, and I cannot even find the data on how many people in each state participated. Enough said.
OLD EUROPE VERSUS NEW EUROPE: Geitner Simmons explains how Chancellor Schroder is trying to export Germany’s high-tax economic torpor to the Eastern European tigers. If they don’t want it, he’s going to try and force it upon them.
The Dish 