The Heartland and Bush

I wondered when rural Americans would have serious second thoughts about him. Well, they have now. Heartlanders trusted this president and have sacrificed more of their young to the war he has bungled. Now, it's payback time:

- A slight majority of rural voters prefers a generic Democratic presidential candidate to a generic Republican candidate.
-  War support is declining. Forty-five percent of rural respondents said the country should "stay the course" in Iraq, down from 51 percent in 2004.
-  Rural people have a personal connection to the wars. Sixty percent know someone serving in the wars. One quarter say they have a family member serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.
-  President Bush's job performance ratings have dropped 10 points (to 44 percent approve) since the 2004 election.

Hat tip: Pollster.com.