Poll: Primaries Have Helped Democrats

[Freddie Stubbs]

By NANCY BENAC
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) -

The presidential primary season has been good for Democrats and tough on President Bush, according to a national poll released Thursday.

The survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that the public's impression of the Democratic field has been improving as the candidates have battled for their party's nomination - with 45 percent now viewing the field positively, compared to 31 percent a month earlier. Bush's overall favorability rating, meanwhile, still is positive at 53 percent, but that compares with 72 percent last April, shortly after the fall of Baghdad, and is the low point of his presidency.

Likewise, Bush's job-approval rating has dropped to 48 percent, the first time in his presidency that it has fallen below 50 percent, according to the poll.

"I'm a little surprised by how negative people are toward Bush personally," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew poll. He said the negative views of Bush might be linked to the high number of people who are paying attention to the failed hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Three-fourths of Americans say they are following the issue very or fairly closely.

more: http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-elect/2004/feb/19/021900485.html