Ports Deal Faces Wide Opposition

"The people who don't like [Bush] are really locked in, and that has consequences," Molyneux said.

Times staff writers Richard Simon and Matthew O'Rourke contributed to this report.

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New lows

Q: Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling:

His job as president

Approve: 38%

Disapprove: 58%

Other: 4%

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The situation in Iraq

Approve: 34%

Disapprove: 63%

Other: 3%

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The war on terrorism

Approve: 44%

Disapprove: 54%

Other: 2%

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The economy

Approve: 37%

Disapprove: 60%

Other: 3%

Sources: L.A. Times/Bloomberg poll

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Q: Do you support or oppose the Dubai-based company overseeing shipping operations at U.S. ports?*

*--* All Democrats Independents Republicans Support 17% 7% 16 29% Oppose 58 68 60 49 Haven't heard enough 18 20 15 14 to say Don't know 7 5 9 8

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Q: Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling:

*--* Now: Approve Disapprove His job as 38% 58% president The situation 34 63 in Iraq The war on 44 54 terrorism The economy 37 60 The budget 24 67 deficit

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*--* Jan. '06: Jan. '05**: Approve Disapprove Approve Disapprove His job as 43% 54% 50% 47% president The situation 41 56 42 54 in Iraq The war on 48 49 54 43 terrorism The economy 37 59 49 46 The budget NA NA NA NA deficit

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Q: Which president do you think did a better job of handling the U.S. economy?

*--* All Democrats Independents Republicans George W. Bush 26% 3% 30% 59% Bill Clinton 63 89 56 30 Both equally 4 3 5 4 Don't know 7 5 9 7

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*This question is summarized.

**L.A. Times poll.

Notes: All results are among adults polled nationwide. Some results may not add up to 100% where some answer categories are not shown.

Times Poll results are also available at www.latimes.com/timespoll.

How the poll was conducted: The Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll contacted 1,273 adults nationwide by telephone Saturday through Wednesday. Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in the nation, and random-digit dialing techniques allowed listed and unlisted numbers to be contacted. Multiple attempts were made to contact each number. Results were weighted slightly to conform with census figures for sex, race, age, education and region. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. For certain subgroups, the error margin may be somewhat higher. Poll results may also be affected by factors such as question wording and the order in which questions were presented.

Source: L.A. Times/Bloomberg poll