USNews.com: Bush losing ground even in the likability department

Even the old Hayseed act is failing.

No one likes a lying sack of hayseed.

USNews.com: Bush losing ground even in the likability department:

"Things aren't getting any easier for President Bush. Even his good-old-boy personality, which once was so appealing to so many Americans, seems to be wearing thin. His underlying problem, pollsters say, is that growing numbers of Americans question his competence and credibility. Only 38 percent of Americans approve of Bush's job performance, and--just as important--only 39 percent have positive feelings about him, according to an NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll. 'What you're seeing is a negative cycle,' says a senior GOP strategist, 'with bad news feeding on bad news, and it's having an effect.'

At this point the direction of the polls--down--seems pretty well established, and Democrats contend that there has been a fundamental public shift in attitudes. 'People used to see him as the kind of guy they'd like to have a beer with,' says Matt Hogan, a Democratic public-opinion analyst for Democracy Corps. 'They don't see him that way anymore. It used to be that while they didn't necessarily agree with his policies, they felt he talked straight and they could trust him. They don't trust him anymore.'

Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg says only 41 percent of Americans today feel warmly about Bush, compared with 50 percent who are cool to him. Just after the 9/11 attacks, 78 percent felt warmly about Bush; only 13 percent were cool toward him. 'People don't like Bush now,' Greenberg says. 'There's a culture around him that is driving people away.'"