Note the headlines for the latest CBS/NYT poll results. They're either:

[Brotherjohn]

"Support for War Is Down Sharply, Poll Concludes"
(as in http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/29/politics/29POLL.html?hp)

OR

"Bush's Approval Rating at All-Time Low -Poll"
(as in http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/bush/articles/2004/04/29/bushs_approval_rating_at_all_time_low__poll/)

Most take the former route: it's support for "the WAR" that's down in the headline, NOT the president (although the stories do mention Bush's record low approval as well).

As for the "Bush's Approval Rating at All-Time Low" headlines, what I find ironic is that this same headline could have been accurately applied to last week's poll results which were portrayed as being so good for Bush. Despite attempts at casting those polls in a good light, the Gallup and ABC/WaPost polls also showed, within margin of error, Bush's approval rating to be at an "all-time low".
(http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm)

Just goes to show what many of us were saying here last week (those who weren't panicking). The publicity surrounding those poll numbers was a shallow attempt at casting bad poll numbers as good, and even those poll numbers showed Bush to be an unpopular incumbent.

The only thing that makes the current CBS/NYT poll look worse is that Bush has experienced an actual decline in approval (along with decline in several indicators of support for the war). While last week's "uptick" may not have been statistically significant (as in fact this week's decline isn't either, but only by a hair), an "uptick" of even a point is enough to send the press off on a mission to boost W's popularity.

But with this 3-point "downtick" to 46% approval, and the fact that it's exceeded by his 47% disapproval, they can't ignore it. Bush is wallowing, at best. "Teetering", as in "on the brink of a knockout", at worst.

Of course, most press outlets have still chosen to emphasize the decline in support for "the war". But either way, ALL of these recent poll results are bad for Bush.