Not only is it not unusual for a president to have an approval rating at 38 percent, it's almost predictable. Every president has rough patches, it says nothing about the ultimate historical judgment.

We've gone through three phases and had a 60 percent approval rating. We're hoping the citizens think we're doing a good job and making improvements in the city and hope they'll vote for it a fourth time.

always underestimate George Bush, and they are still doing it.

Most people have made up their minds about him one way or the other, but there's still a persuadable group in the middle who can be convinced that he's doing a good job, who are not at this point convinced.

It's a combination of weariness over Iraq, concern about gas prices, worry about jobs being sent overseas and other factors that lead people to be in a funk. When people are in a funk, they take it out on the guy in charge, regardless of whether he's responsible or not.

Well before this happened, I was glad the '06 elections weren't being held this summer. The country's in a funk, and it was in a funk before Katrina. But there's a great deal of time for that mood to change.