Newsweek Poll: Controversial Political Ads

With the battle for control of Congress moving toward the final week, a Newsweek poll shows some evidence of gains for George W. Bush and the Republicans. Bush approval is up a few points (37% vs. 35% last week and 33% three weeks ago), a larger number of Americans now say they are satisfied with the direction of the country (31% vs. 25% last week), and public opinion about the situation in Iraq is not quite as negative as it has been. The poll also asks a series of questions about recent ads for Republican and Democratic candidates running for the U.S. House and Senate; majorities of voters have seen these ads. Those aware of these ads are quite critical of them. Ads for Republican and Democratic candidates are about equally likely to be seen as too negative (63% and 61%, respectively) and misleading or distorted (65% and 63%). Less than a third (28%) of aware voters see the GOP ads and a third (32%) of aware voters see the Democratic ads as providing useful information.

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