Political Update

USA Today reports that the President's approval numbers are up:

Amid falling gas prices and a two-week drive to highlight his administration's efforts to fight terrorism, President Bush's approval rating has risen to 44% in a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll. That's his highest rating in a year.

Which is pretty okay numbers for a second term president around the mid term elections but let's not pretend these are great numbers. Get back to me when he's over 50...

The good news is the Congressional numbers:

The poll also showed likely voters evenly divided between Democratic and Republican candidates for Congress, 48%-48%. Among registered voters, Democrats had a 51%-42% advantage.

Of course, these polls are still meaningless, but the fact that the 527 media is dialing back the Republican Death Knell story is a significant sign.

And then there is this:

The new poll found likely voters more prone to vote for candidates who support Bush on terrorism, 45%-28%, and evenly divided on those who support and oppose Bush on Iraq. More than a quarter said Iraq is their top concern this fall. For the first time since December 2005, a majority of people did not say the war there was a mistake; the split was 49%-49%.

Remember, folks, Speaker Wannabe Nancy Pelosi doesn't think national security is what this election cycle should be about...and now we know why: it is a losing issue for Democrats.

Here is a mixed bag that I'll have to think about:

Bush's terror-fighting techniques drew mixed reviews. A 55%-42% majority supported his policy of wiretapping phone conversations between U.S. citizens here and suspected terrorists in other countries without getting a court order.

But by 48%-41%, people said it would be worse to convict defendants on evidence they are never shown, as Bush wants, than to let some suspected terrorists go free. And 57% said the United States should abide by the Geneva Conventions that bar humiliating and degrading treatment of prisoners; Bush wants to write U.S. standards that critics such as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., say would weaken protections.

Not sure what to make of all that...

Interesting stuff all around...check it out.