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Posted: Monday, 15 May 2006 5:11AM

First Lady Dismisses Poll Numbers; Defends Husband

Steve Marshall Reporting
KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO


WASHINGTON, DC (KNX) -- First Lady Laura Bush appeared on Fox News Sunday yesterday to say she doesn't believe recent polls that show her husband's popularity at an all-time low.

Mrs. Bush said she doesn't believe people are losing confidence in the president, despite the latest poll numbers indicating support for him at its lowest point in his five-year presidency and among the lowest for any president in the past 50 years.

"I don't really believe those polls. I travel around the country. I see people, I see their responses to my husband. I see their response to me," she said.

"As I travel around the United States, I see a lot of appreciation for him. A lot of people come up to me and say, 'Stay the course'."

Most current polls put public approval of President Bush at less than 32%. Last week, the Harris Interactive Poll show him with the lowest approval level yet in his presidency, 29%.

In a separate interview on the ABC series "This Week," Mrs. Bush said her husband's popularity was suffering because the country had been through a difficult year.

"We've had a very, very difficult year, starting with the hurricane last September, but already because of the terrorist attack in 2001 and then the war on terror since then," she said. "He's the one that has to make the hard decisions. And, of course, they don't please everyone."

The first lady complained that newspapers didn't trumpet Mr. Bush's approval numbers when they were high, but are putting them on the front page now that they are registering lower.

Responding to a question as to whether she thought the media had been unfair to her husband, Mrs. Bush said: "No, I don't think it's necessarily unfair. I think it's just, you know, I think they may be enjoying this a little bit."