BUSH GAINS ON KATRINA

That seems to me to be the buried lede in the NYT poll today. The public is now evenly spit on that question – which may reflect the success of the recovery effort since the initial debacle. The CBS poll showed that a week ago, 58 percent disapproved. Today that number is 50 percent. More whites approve than disapprove now (49 to 46 percent), although the damage that Katrina has done to Bush’s attempt to win over blacks is probably permanent. Yes, Bush’s general numbers are still the lowest of his presidency. But if you can have his record on the Iraq occupation and Katrina response and still get 40 percent approval, you have a pretty solid floor. My own view is that 35 percent of Americans would support him whatever he actually does. That’s how polarized we are.