The latest USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll is very interesting. Some choice results:

Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president? 50% "Disapprove," compared to 49% a year ago, 30% two years ago, and just 17% three years ago. Pretty bad trend.

Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the economy? 58% "Disapprove," compared to 56% a year ago, 44% two years ago, and 29% three years ago. Funny, you'd think those numbers would be switched around for such a "popular" second-term leader....?

Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation in Iraq? 56% "Disapprove," compared to 21% just two years ago. I guess the Wall Street Journal needs to better publicize their "Good News from Iraq" column. Also, the Downing Street Memo "revelations" can't help.

Do you think the country would be better off if the Republicans controlled Congress, or if the Democrats controlled Congress? 36% said Republican vs. 47% saying Dems. Looks very similar to when Newt lost control.

And this one's huge: Please tell me whether you agree or disagree with George W. Bush on the issues that matter most to you. 40% Agree and a whopping 57% Disagree. Wow. And two years ago this was 53/46 in his favor.

It shows you how over-the-cliff extreme the GOP has strayed. They can't help it, it's what they do best. That party has been hijacked by zealots and moderation (and reason) has become like kryptonite to them. When I've predicted implosion, the assumption is always that there exists at least a few stray non-crazed ones left to stir up much-needed push-back, but that's a big assumption. Frankly, for the Dems sake, they may wish to root-on and enable the Frists, DeLays and Santorums in that party.

Meanwhile, although the House voted for a more lenient stem-cell bill, notice that GW has quickly given signs of caving regarding any threatened veto (as reported by the Wall Street Journal). But I thought he was going to make a moral stand, putting his fist down for what he believes in? Hah! Remember: he endorsed pro-choice Specter over pro-life Toomey. It's really all about politics with him (only the fools believe otherwise) and could the reason for his urging to compromise be that poll numbers actually favor stem-cell research?