Bush Hit's Low-Water Mark In Popularity, Handling Of Foreign Policy; Dems Seem Happy With Their Leaders

The latest AP-Ipsos poll indicates President Bush's approval rating has hit rock-bottom and shows a major slide for him in the areas that used to be his strong suit.

The poll, released Friday, shows the president has hit a low-water mark in three key areas: 36% approve of his job performance, 40% approve of his performance in foreign policy and 35% of the public approve of Bush's handling of the war.

The picture is not much prettier for the Republicans as a whole.

Just 30% of the public approves of the GOP-led Congress' job performance, and Republicans seem to be taking the biggest hit. By a 49-33 margin, the public favors Democrats over Republicans when asked which party should control Congress, the largest advantage the party has ever had in a AP-Ipsos poll.

Not surprisingly, Democratic Party insiders seem to be happy with their leadership at the moment, while the same can not be said about GOP stalwarts.

In the National Journal's latest Insider Poll, 56% of Democratics give their party's Congressional leaders a grade of either 'A' or 'B' for their efforts in dealing with President Bush. Some 68% of Republicans, on the other hand, give the White House a grade of 'C' or below for its effectiveness in dealing with Congress.

The Insider Poll has an interesting story to tell about the now-collapsed efforts at immigration reform.

Of the Republicans polled, 54% said the best result for their party on the immigration issue would be the enactment of a temporary guest-worker program and tighter borders, while 32% said tightening the borders only would be the best politically for the GOP.

On the other side of the aisle, 53% of Democrats said enacting a path to citizenship and tightening borders would be the best for their party politically.Some 26% said the party would best be served by enacting nothing.