With the president's job approval at its lowest ever, the White House said this evening the George W Bush was not driven by public opinion polls and dismissed them as "something Washington gets caught up in."
Mr Bush's job approval rating fell to an all-time low of 39 per cent in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll published yesterday in the wake of the government's sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina, high petrol prices, continued fighting in Iraq and controversy over his nomination of White House lawyer Harriet Miers to the US Supreme Court.
"The president's focused on moving forward on our agenda," spokesman Scott McClellan said. "He doesn't get caught up in the weekly poll numbers."
The numbers have steadily declined in all polls - at least one put Mr Bush's job approval at 37 percent - since he was sworn in for a second term in January.
"When you are a leader you can't be driven by polls," Mr McClellan said.