Bush's approval rating remains at all-time low

Optimism about country's future fading

WASHINGTON - Evangelicals, Republican women, Southerners and other critical groups in President Bush’s political coalition are increasingly worried about the direction the nation is headed and disappointed with his performance, an AP-Ipsos poll found.

The growing unease could be a troubling sign for a White House already struggling to keep the Republican Party base from slipping over Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, Gulf Coast spending projects, immigration and other issues.

“Politically, this is very serious for the president,” said James Thurber, a political scientist at American University. “If the base of his party has lost faith, that could spell trouble for his policy agenda and for the party generally.”