Deciding on the Decider

So which do you think will happen first: Barry Bonds breaks Babe Ruth's home run record, or Bush drops below 30%? Even though Bonds is one homer away from tying Ruth and the Giants are at home, I wouldn't bet on him.

Both the new Gallup Poll and the New York Times/CBS Poll place Bush's approval rating at 31%, in both cases the lowest they've recorded in his time in office. The Gallup Poll records a drop of 3 percentage points in one week.

Said the Times: Americans have a bleaker view of the country's direction than at any time in more than two decades, and sharp disapproval of President Bush's handling of gasoline prices has combined with intensified unhappiness about Iraq to create a grim political environment for the White House and Congressional Republicans, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

Just 13 percent approved of Mr. Bush's handling of rising gas prices. Only one-quarter said they approved of his handling of immigration, as Congressional Republicans struggle to come up with a compromise to deal with the influx of illegal immigrants into the country.

The poll showed a continued decline in support for the war, the issue that has most eaten into Mr. Bush's public support. The percentage of respondents who said going to war in Iraq was the correct decision slipped to a new low of 39 percent, down from 47 percent in January. Two-thirds said they have little or no confidence that Mr. Bush will be able to successfully end the war there.

These are historic numbers. Only four presidents have scored as low or lower, and three of them (Nixon, Carter, elder Bush) never got above 40% again. (Only Harry Truman did, but faded again later.) The Smirk's disapproval rating shot up to 65%, only one percentage point short of Richard Nixon's, just before he resigned.