The newest poll from Quinnipiac University finds that President Bush's approval ratings are tanking.

American voters disapprove of the job President George W. Bush is doing 50 - 44 percent, his lowest approval rating since becoming President. This compares to a 48 - 45 percent disapproval in a March 9 Quinnipiac University poll. [emphasis added]

Ouch.

If you take a look at the trend graph produced by Pollkatz, you can clearly see that President Bush is moving in the wrong direction. One poll, you can write off. Two polls, you can write off. But every poll showing the same trend is almost irrefutable.

There is more cause for concern for Republicans across the polling. The approval ratings for George W. Bush -- like almost every other President in the modern era -- has correlated quite closely to the price of gasoline. Unfortunately for the President, the most recent downturn in his numbers has come at a time when gas prices have actually been falling (as you can see in this other great graph from Pollkatz). This disconnect shows that the President is treading on some fairly this ice these days as a result of his policies, not just outside occurrences.

So there can be no more blaming of gas prices or shoddy methodology for the lagging numbers for Bush in recent polling. He, and the Republican Party, are simply not favored by the American people these days. The Democrats have yet to capitalize on this trend, but if (or when) they do, there could be a real partisan swing.