US: Almost six out of 10 Americans have doubts about President George W Bush's honesty, according to a new poll that also shows a majority disapproving of his handling of the economy, Iraq and the war against terrorism.
The Washington Post-ABC poll found that a record 60 per cent of Americans believe the president is doing a bad job, as the CIA leak inquiry saps trust in his personal integrity.
The percentage of Americans who believe Mr Bush is honest and trustworthy has plunged by 13 per cent in 18 months, and this poll is the first to show a majority disapproving of his handling of the war against terrorism.
Fifty-two per cent believe that last week's indictment of Lewis "Scooter" Libby in connection with the CIA leak is part of a deeper pattern of ethical wrongdoing in the administration, and six out of 10 want Mr Bush's most senior political adviser, Karl Rove, to resign.
Mr Bush still enjoys the support of an overwheming majority of Republicans, although those backing him have fallen by 13 per cent to 78 per cent since the start of the year.
Only 11 per cent of Democrats approve of the president, and just 33 per cent of independents think he is doing a good job.
Although three out of four Americans say that the level of US casualties in Iraq is unacceptable and six out of 10 believe that the US was wrong to invade the country, only 18 per cent want US forces to be withdrawn immediately.
A clear majority now believes that the administration deliberately misled the country to make the case for war, and most Americans say the war has not contributed to the long-term security of the US.
Speaking to reporters in Argentina yesterday, Mr Bush dismissed the poll findings and said he would win the trust of the American people by fighting terrorism, boosting the economy and cracking down on illegal immigration.
"The way you earn credibility with the American people is to declare an agenda that everybody can understand, an agenda that relates to their lives, and get the job done.
"And the agenda that I'm working on now is one that is important to the American people," he said.
The only piece of good polling news for the president is that 49 per cent approve of his nominee for the supreme court, Samuel Alito, while 29 per cent disapprove.
Mr Bush had hoped that Mr Alito's confirmation hearings in the senate would be over before Christmas, but the Republican chairman of the senate judiciary committee, Arlen Specter, has set the hearings to start on January 9th next year.
"This is a very vital issue for the United States Senate and for the country," President Bush said.
"Sam Alito jnr is an incredibly intelligent, well-qualified person who should be on the court. I told the leadership I thought it would be best to have the hearings before Christmas. They didn't feel like they could get the job done.
"I talked to chairman Specter, and the reason he couldn't get the hearings done before Christmas was because Alito had written so many opinions, and he wanted to make sure he had time to read them," Mr Bush said.