US: President Bush's approval ratings have recovered from a low of 50 per cent to 56 per cent, according to the latest Gallup Poll, after a week in which top administration officials spread across the country to make a positive case about Iraq, and with the stock market rising to levels not seen since last year, writes Conor O'Clery
There is scant comfort for the White House, however, in the poll, commissioned by CNN and USA Today newspaper. It shows that the narrow divide that marked the 2000 election has not changed.
Some 38 per cent of registered voters said they definitely would vote for Mr Bush and 38 per cent said they would definitely vote against him.
The middle 24 per cent are undecided. USA Today concluded that a week after California voters staged a rebellion against their governor, the electorate nationwide shares some of the discontent that fuelled Arnold Schwarzenegger's victory.
Asked how they felt about the way things were going in the country, 59 per cent of voters said they were "angry about something" and 39 per cent said they were generally content.
Displeased with news coverage of the war in Iraq, Mr Bush has has accelerated efforts to bypass the national media. On Monday he granted exclusive interviews to five regional broadcasting companies, an unprecedented outreach to about 10 million Americans.