As President Bush pushes harder and harder for privatization of Social Security, he risks losing a great portion of the political base that led him to power in 2000 and 2004, according to the latest AP-Ipsos poll. Will Lester writes up the results, with this graf, in particular, standing out.

On the subject of Social Security, political independents, Catholics, married women, older Americans and Southerners indicate stronger doubts than they have about Bush's handling of terrorism.

Not only is Bush losing ground with these key groups, he's faltering among the entire population. Here are the key numbers from the poll:

While a majority of Americans approve of Bush's handling of terrorism and foreign policy, just over a third, 37 percent, like his approach to Social Security.

[...]

A majority of Americans, 56 percent, say they disapprove of Bush's handling of Social Security. A similar number in a recent AP poll opposed the creation of personal accounts.

More than half of Americans, 55 percent, still have a general sense that the country is headed down the wrong track.

[...]

The public is about evenly split on Bush's job performance overall, with 48 percent approving and 50 percent disapproving. Men were more likely than women to approve of Bush's job performance.

Privatization might not be as popular as President Bush hoped it was.