WASHINGTON, Sept 11: President George Bush’s approval rating has hit its lowest level since he entered the White House in Jan 2001, a poll by Newsweek magazine showed on Saturday. The US leader’s approval rating stood at 38 per cent, while some 52 per cent of Americans polled said they lacked confidence in Mr Bush’s ability to make sound decisions in a crisis, whether domestic or international, and 45 per cent said they did have faith in the president.

Questioned on Mr Bush’s ability to handle future crises like Hurricane Katrina, some 57 per cent said they had no faith in the president, against 41 per cent who said they remained confident in his abilities.

A separate poll by Time Magazine suggested that 61 per cent of Americans thought the government should cut its spending in Iraq to help pay for the reconstruction of hurricane-shattered New Orleans and the surrounding area.

The survey, which questioned 1,000 people on Wednesday and Thursday, also found that 58 per cent favoured withdrawing troops from Iraq to help with the recovery and reconstruction of the southern United States.

The Newsweek poll found that 49 per cent said the Iraq invasion was not justified, while 46 per cent said they approved of Mr Bush’s decision to invade.

It was the first time a Newsweek poll showed people who disapprove of the invasion outnumbering those who support it.

On the issue of fighting terrorism, seen as one of Bush’s strongest points, 48 percent of respondents said they no longer had confidence in the president, against 46 percent who said they did.

Two-thirds said they were disappointed with the way things generally were going in the United States, while 28 percent said they were satisfied. —AFP