NYTimes/CBS poll: Bush has 34% approval; 83% think he's "hiding something or mostly lying" about Iraq

And with less than a month before Election Day, the Times/CBS News Poll findings suggest that the scandal involving Mr. Foley, a former congressman from Florida, is alienating Americans from Congress, and weakening a Republican Party that was already struggling to keep control of the House and Senate. By overwhelming numbers, including majorities of Republicans, Americans said that most members of Congress do not follow the same rules of behavior as average Americans, and that most members of Congress consider themselves above the law.

The public’s view of Iraq is as dark as it’s been since the war began in 2003: two-thirds said it is going somewhat or very badly, while only 3 percent said the war was going very well. Two-thirds said they disapprove of how President Bush is handling Iraq.

Mr. Bush’s job approval has slipped to 34 percent, one of the lowest levels of his presidency, posing a complication for the White House as it seeks to send him out on the road to rally base voters. Mr. Bush’s job approval rating has even slipped with his base: 75 percent of conservative Republicans approve of the way he has handled his job, compared with 96 percent in November 2004.

Mr. Bush clearly faces constraints as he seeks to address the public concerns about Iraq that have shrouded this midterm election: 83 percent of respondents thought that Mr. Bush was either hiding something or mostly lying when he discussed how the war in Iraq was going.