OT Bush approval rating surges - up 20% since Nov.

Washington -- President Bush's approval rating has surged in the wake
of last week's elections in Iraq, reversing what had been an extended
period of decline, with Americans now expressing renewed optimism about
the future of democracy in Iraq, the campaign against terrorism, and
the U.S. economy, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News
Poll.

Bush's overall approval rating rose to 47 percent, up from 39 percent
in early November, with 52 percent saying they disapprove of how he is
handling his job. His approval rating on Iraq jumped 10 percentage
points since early November to 46 percent, while his rating on the
economy rose 11 percentage points to 47 percent.

A clear majority, 56 percent, said they approve of the way Bush is
handling the fight against terrorism -- a traditional strong point in
his reputation that nonetheless had flagged to 48 percent in the
November poll.

The findings in the new poll are based on telephone interviews with
1,003 randomly selected adults, taken between last Thursday and Sunday.
The margin of error is plus or minus three points.


Source -
[url]http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/12/20/MNG87GAQBA1.DTL[/url]