The situation is getting hotter in swampy Washington for Bush and the Republicans. Jerome Armstrong passes on the latest numbers from Newsweek, which show a sharp decline in support for the President:

(Approve, Disapprove, Don't Know)

Bush as President (45, 48, 7)
Bush on Social Security (33, 59, 8)

Bloomberg lays out the poll as follows:

Just one in three Americans trust President George W. Bush on the issue of Social Security, according to the latest Newsweek poll.

Bush's handling of the issue appears to be a drag on his overall approval ratings, which have declined five percentage points in Newsweek's poll over the past six weeks, a period during which the president toured 15 states to tout his plan to overhaul the nation's 70-year-old government retirement program.

The president's approval rating of 45 percent is the second- lowest of his presidency in the Newsweek poll. His lowest was 42 percent in May of last year. The slide comes just as key U.S. economic indicators, such as job creation, are turning around.

By a margin of 44 percent to 33 percent, more Americans trust congressional Democrats than Bush on Social Security, the poll found.

"What we're seeing are the repercussions from the president's efforts on Social Security, which certainly were not well thought out from a public relations standpoint," said Chris Ingram, president of 411 Communications, a Tampa, Florida-based political polling and communications firm.

The repercussions are not limited to the President. As super hack Robert Novak warns, the GOP could face substantial losses come 2006 if the situation doesn't change fast.

Analysts at the Republican National Committee (RNC) have sent this warning to the House of Representatives: the party is in danger of losing 25 seats in the 2006 election and, therefore, of losing control of the House for the first time since the 1994 election.

Although some Republicans on Capitol Hill believe the RNC is just trying to frighten them, concern about keeping the present 232 to 202 edge pervades GOP ranks. The second mid-term election of an eight-year presidency often produces heavy congressional losses for the party in power.

It's tough to be a Republican...