Julian Borger (Extracted from "Bush feels hand of God as poll ratings slump", The Guardian, 5 November 2005)

"America's faith in George Bush and in his decision to go to war in Iraq has plummeted in the wake of a White House intelligence scandal that went to court this week, according to a new poll.

Nearly six in 10 Americans, 58%, said they had doubts about the president's honesty, a 13% rise in 18 months. Only 32% believed Mr Bush was handling ethical issues well . . . . His overall popularity has plunged to 39%, a new low for the Washington Post/ABC survey."

[Ed As his support steadily plunges lower for the rest of his second term, a feeble-minded President Bush will probably go down in both folklore and the history books as one of the most despised presidents ever, manipulated as he was by individuals such as Karl Rove and Richard Cheney. Prime Minister Blair, a much more intelligent and well-meaning figure, must be wondering whether the same fate awaits him. He is now desperately -- almost hysterically -- trying to achieve a few good things that the history books can write about approvingly. Unfortunately, however, their authors will probably dwell on the facts that the Labour Government's three terms in office didn't arrest the widening rich-poor and high skill-low skill gaps in the population and that, finally, it joined all the other large developed countries in going into financial deficit.]