Clark in 2004

This snippet is taken from Yahoo News. Can anyone say Democrat in 2004?

Poll Shows Drop in Confidence on Bush Skill in Handling Crises

By TODD S. PURDUM and JANET ELDER The New York Times

The public’s confidence in President Bush ability to deal wisely with an international crisis has slid sharply over the past five months, the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll has found. And a clear majority are also uneasy about his ability to make the right decisions on the nation’s economy.

Over all, the poll found, Americans are for the first time more critical than not of Mr. Bush’s ability to handle both foreign and domestic problems, and a majority say the president does not share their priorities. Thirteen months before the 2004 election, a solid majority of Americans say the country is seriously on the wrong track, a classic danger sign for incumbents, and only about half of Americans approve of Mr. Bush’s overall job performance. That is roughly the same as when Mr. Bush took office after the razor-close 2000 election.

The poll found that just 45 percent of Americans now have confidence in Mr. Bush’s ability to deal wisely with an international crisis, down sharply from 66 percent in April, and half now say they are uneasy about his approach. Nearly 9 in 10 Americans say the war in Iraq is still going on, and 6 in 10 say the United States should not spend as much on the effort as Mr. Bush has sought. Three-quarters of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, say the administration has yet to clearly explain how long American troops will have to stay in Iraq, or how much it will cost to rebuild the country.