O'Malley's upside-down poll numbers better than Bush's

Gov. Martin O'Malley (D): Campaign PhotoA new Rasmussen Reports poll finds that Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Baltimore) is once again more popular than President George W. Bush (R).

37 percent of likely voters give O'Malley a positive job performance rating, while 60 percent are negative. Similarly, Bush is rated 32 percent positive to 68 percent negative.

A Washington Times/Rasmussen poll conducted in January had given Bush a 36 percent approval rating to O'Malley's 33 percent. The poll came shortly after 2007's special legislative session, when tax increases and budget cuts flooded local news coverage.

And while the toplines do not show a great movement in opinion for the governor, he has made some headway since the year began.

Today, 6 percent call his job performance 'excellent,' 31 percent 'good,' 29 percent 'fair,' and 31 percent 'poor.' 3 percent are not sure. In January, 6 percent found him 'excellent,' 27 percent 'good,' 27 percent 'fair,' and 37 percent 'poor,' with 4 percent unsure.

Negative feelings are much more intense about the President's performance. At 51 percent, a majority of Maryland voters say Bush is doing a 'poor' job, while 17 percent say 'fair,' 18 percent say 'good,' and 14 percent 'excellent.'

The survey of 500 likely voters was conducted on Monday, Aug. 18, and has a +/- 4.5 percent margin of error and a 95 percent confidence interval. It also found Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama leading Republican John McCain.