Most give Bush good grade on economy, poll finds

By Will Lester
The Associated Press

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WASHINGTON — Amid rising consumer confidence, President Bush gets good marks for his handling of the economy from a clear majority of voters for the first time in more than a year, an Associated Press poll finds.

Many offered only qualified support, however.

The uptick in Bush's rating on an issue certain to be central to the upcoming presidential campaign comes as overall public confidence in the economy is as high as it's been since early 2002, according to the national poll conducted last week for the AP by Ipsos-Public Affairs.

In all, 55 percent of registered voters polled said they approve of Bush's handling of the economy and 43 percent disapproved, according to the survey. That's Bush's best number on this measure in Ipsos polls since the third quarter of 2002.

A month ago, 46 percent of those polled approved and 51 percent disapproved of Bush's handling of the economy.

In the new survey, 23 percent said they strongly approve of Bush's handling of the economy, 19 percent said they somewhat approve, and 13 percent initially reported mixed feelings but leaned toward approval. Bush's strong approval score on the economy has hovered around 20 percent in Ipsos polls since sliding in early 2002 from around 30 percent.

The economy, primed by low interest rates and tax cuts, is showing mixed signs of recovery. There are projections of rapid growth for 2004, signs of an improving job picture and a rebound in the stock market. But the nation has lost more than 2 million jobs, economists are uncertain about the turnaround in employment, and states are reeling from revenue losses.

Thomas Riehle, Ipsos-Public Affairs president, said improving consumer attitudes are driven largely by optimism about the future of the economy rather than by their current personal finances.

While some people are gaining confidence the economy will grow stronger, many are not convinced. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they expect their local economy to get stronger in the next six months. But 51 percent said they expect it will stay the same.

The poll of 1,001 adults was taken Dec. 15-17. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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