Poll whacked

Bad news all around for Bush here, including:

Perhaps most striking, 44% said they approved of Bush's handling of terrorism, while 54% disapproved -— the first time a majority has expressed a negative opinion about his handling of that issue in a Times survey.

Read the whole thing if you want to see how much people don't approve of the President right now. Those terrorism numbers are bad for a guy who relies on terror issues to push legislation and his agenda, and if they don't improve could prove worse for the GOP overall in the 2006 elections.

Closer to home, things don't look good for Arnold, either:

Just 37 percent of California's likely voters are inclined to re-elect Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in November, a huge drop from a year ago, according to a poll released Thursday.

Good news for Democrats is that both State Treasurer Phil Angelides and state Controller Steve Westly run competitive with Arnold despite being relative unknowns. The bad news is that, nine months before the election, voters still don't know the Democratic candidates for governor very well.

You can do your part to help chage that here. It's important for both candidates to define themselves before anyone else gets a chance, and you can help with some couch cushion change or your rainy day fund. Every little bit helps.