Changing tides: Results of a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center Sept. 8-11 seems to indicate the Democrats are gaining ground while President Bush and the Republican Party continue to lose it.

Only 40% approve of how Bush is handling his job while 52% disapprove. Worse yet, only 36% approve of how Repug congressional leaders are performing, and 49% disapprove. Democratic conressional leaders fared only marginally better, with a 36% approval rate, but only 45% disapproving.

To the question of which party they would vote for if the election were held today, 52% said they either would or were leaning toward voting Democratic, while 40% favored the GOPs. Asked whether they would like to see most members of Congress re-elected, 48% said no.

Asked which party they believed would handle a list of issues better, respondents chose the Democratic Party for the economy (44%/38%), Iraq (43%/38%), the nation’s energy problems (44%/31%), reforming health care (51%/28%), protecting the environment (51%/28%), improving education (44%/35%), making Social Security financially sound (45%/33%), and ensuring the government can handle major disasters (40%/34%).

The Republican Party was seen as doing a better job at dealing with the terrorist threat at home (45%/34%).

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