CBS:

President George W. Bush finds disapproval on his handling of the matter, too — and the public now shows diminished confidence in his abilities to handle a crisis or provide leadership, as well as in the government’s ability to protect the country.

RATING THE RESPONSE

President George W. Bush’s overall response to Katrina meets with disapproval today – a dramatic change from the public’s reaction just after the storm hit on August 29th. Last week, in the two days immediately after Katrina made landfall, a majority of Americans said they approved of Bush’s response, although more than a third were not sure. Now, only 38% approve. A majority disapproves.

BUSH’S HANDLING OF RESPONSE TO KATRINA

Now

Approve        Disapprove         Don’t Know
     38%                  58%                        4%

8/30-31

Approve        Disapprove         Don’t Know
     54%                  12%                        34%

This poll was conducted among a nationwide random sample of 725 adults, interviewed by telephone September 6-7, 2005. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus four percentage points.