Washington Post: Economy Provides No Boost for Bush

From the Washington Post:

Despite his best efforts to prove his strength on the issue, Bush's poll numbers on the economy are still quite low. According to a Washington Post-ABC poll conducted in late May, only 44 percent of respondents approved of Bush's handling of the economy, while a whopping 54 percent disapproved. In order to gain some traction on the issue, the Bush team has tried linking the economy to - what else? - the war on terror.

"There's a general anxiety that is at heart about security, and that's why security is so central to the campaign. Security underlies our feelings about prosperity," said Bush campaign spokesman Terry Holt.

It's no surprise that voters don't feel economically secure. Check out these statistics:

- There are 2.2 million more unemployed Americans now than when Bush assumed office. The manufacturing sector has been hit particularly hard.

- There is a tremendous amount of "underemployment" - jobless people taking part-time employment to fill the gaps.

- The average length of unemployment is five months - a 20 year high.

And voters are connecting the economy with foreign policy, just not in the way that Holt and Bush campaign would like. You see, voters are actually being realistic.

"It all goes back to Iraq. It's a drain on the economy, when there's so much needed elsewhere. My gosh, we didn't need to be there," said Steven Valerga, a Bush voter in 2000.

"I think he [Bush] gets more joy, he gets a bigger rush, out of doing world war. The United States economy just bores him or confuses him, I guess," said Jodie Flickinger, a lifelong Republican.

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