'Bush out of step with most Americans'

US President George W Bush does not share the priorities of most of the country on either domestic or foreign issues, reveals a New York Times/CBS News poll published Thursday.

The poll, the first conducted by The Times and CBS News since Bush's inauguration, also showed that Bush's approval rating remains unchanged from a month ago at 49 per cent, suggesting that the disagreement with Bush's ideas is yet to impact on his popularity.

On Iraq, 53 percent of those surveyed said efforts to bring order to that nation were going very or somewhat well, up from 41 percent a month ago. That is the highest rating on that score since the capture of Saddam Hussein.

Sixty-three percent of the respondents believed the president's priorities

on domestic issues differ from those of most Americans. On Social Security, 51 percent said permitting individuals to invest part of their Social Security taxes in private accounts, the centerpiece of Bush's plan, was a bad idea.

Forty five per cent said Bush's private account plan would actually weaken the economic underpinnings of the nation's retirement system.

Asked to choose among five domestic issues facing the country, they rated Social Security third, behind jobs and health care.

Also, 58 percent of respondents said the White House did not share the foreign affairs priorities of most Americans.

The poll, conducted over telephone with 1,111 adults from Thursday through Monday, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.