Bush Finds Economy Is Turning From Potential Asset to Liability

Aug. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration has counted on growing public appreciation of a strong economy to bolster Republican prospects in fall congressional races. That hasn't materialized, and the economy may have peaked months before the election.

The public is divided over whether the economy is doing well, according to a new Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll, with a strong majority giving President George W. Bush and the Republicans negative marks on the issue.

``It wasn't long ago that the president was crowing about the economy's strength,'' said Stuart Rothenberg, publisher of the Washington-based Rothenberg Political Report. ``Now it's hard to see the economy helping the president turn around his unimpressive poll numbers. The public is unhappy, and they're likely to take that out on Republicans running for the House and Senate.''

Almost 3 out of 5 Americans disapprove of the way Bush is handling the economy, the poll shows. Economic growth is forecast to slow to an annual pace of less than 3 percent in the second half of this year, from an average of about 4 percent in the first half, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.