A new Los Angeles Times poll shows President Bush’s job approval rating at 50 percent, with 47 percent disapproving. This is similar to findings in six Times surveys last year. On terrorism, 54 percent said they approved of his performance–the exact average he received in the 2004 surveys. Asked to judge his Iraq policy, 42 percent said they approved while 54 percent disapproved, a slightly weaker showing than at any point last year.
Asked about his proposal to allow workers to divert part of their payroll taxes into private accounts, 42 percent said they would support private investment accounts while 52 percent said they would oppose them. By 50 percent to 42 percent, those polled said they supported Bush’s plan to limit awards for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases. The poll surveyed 1,033 adults from Saturday through Monday, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
