The pursuit of unpopular policies has really begun to hamper President Bush's image among the American people. American Research Group has the latest round of polling, with numbers even the first President Bush wouldn't envy.

George W. Bush's job approval ratings have dropped to post-election lows as Americans have become increasingly concerned about their personal finances and the national economy according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. Among all Americans, 43% say they approve of the way Bush is handling his job and 51% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 37% of Americans say they approve and 57% say they disapprove.

One might scoff off this poll as it covers all Americans, rather than registered voters. OK. What about this, then?

Among Americans registered to vote, 43% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 51% disapprove. As for Bush's handling of the economy, 38% of registered voters approve and 56% disapprove.

[...]

Among Republicans (37% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 81% approve of the way Bush is handling his job and 12% disapprove. Among Democrats (38% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 11% approve and 84% disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job. Among Independents (25% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 37% approve and 58% disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job as president.

Will this lead the President and his Republican allies to walk away from the precipice? Probably not. But if the GOP continues to stray from the national consensus on major issues, it might find itself out of power come 2006.