Poll Shows U.S. Evenly Divided on Bush Policies

NEW YORK — Almost half of Americans do not think that President Bush is committed to protecting the environment, but those who approve of his handling of energy and environmental issues outnumber those who disapprove, a Newsweek poll released Saturday showed.

Of those responding, 53% agreed there was a national energy crisis, and 52% said developing new sources of energy should be a more important priority for the United States than protecting the environment.

The poll showed that 47% did not think Bush was committed to protecting the environment, while 39% said he was.

But Bush’s handling of energy policy had the approval of 44% of those polled, while 39% disapproved. His performance concerning environmental issues received 45% approval against 41% disapproval, the survey found.

Asked about Bush’s proposal to open some protected Alaskan wilderness areas for oil exploration, 48% disapproved and 45% approved.

Yet 51% said the priority for U.S. energy policy should be more energy conservation and regulation of energy use and prices, while 42% said it should be expanding exploration, mining and drilling and the construction of more power plants.

The poll of 1,002 adults taken Thursday and Friday had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, Newsweek said.

Bush’s overall approval rating remained steady at 57%, the magazine reported.