By Gregory Korte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

President Bush's job approval rating in Ohio has hit an all-time low, according to an Ohio Poll released Friday.

Only 46 percent of Ohioans approve of Bush's performance - 3 percentage points lower than the last poll, in February - and 51 percent disapprove.

The survey was of adults - not necessarily registered voters - so the numbers don't necessarily reflect how voters will act in November, said pollsters at the University of Cincinnati's Institute for Policy Research. But they do underscore the closeness of the campaign in Ohio, a state that Republicans considered to be Bush's not long ago.

Three Cabinet-level Bush administration officials have visited Cincinnati in the past week, and advance scouts for Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, were in Cincinnati Friday. They're planning a midday campaign rally for Tuesday.

The time and place of the event will be announced today, but a campaign spokeswoman said the theme has already been decided: "Jobs, jobs, jobs."

Democrats see the economy as Bush's biggest weakness in Ohio. The poll showed only 38 percent of Ohioans approve of Bush's handling of the economy.

"Ohioans don't need to be told in television advertising what to think about the economy. They can see it. They can feel it. They can live it," said Dan Trevas, communications director for the Ohio Democratic Party.

But Bush's Hamilton County campaign chairman said he expects the numbers to improve as voters begin to see the long-term benefits of the president's policies.

"The electorate is polarized because George Bush has taken strong stands on the war on terror and by cutting taxes," said Greg Hartmann, the county clerk of courts. "I think the president's message will be effective at the end of the day with independents. He's been a strong leader in these difficult times."

The approval numbers come from the same survey showing Bush and Kerry in a virtual dead heat in Ohio. Those numbers - Kerry, 46 percent; Bush, 44 percent - were released last week. The poll was conducted March 10 through March 22.

The new approval numbers are significant, however, because they're easier to track over time and are more sensitive to current events. Bush enjoyed an 87 percent approval rating after the 2001 terrorist attacks and a 76 percent rating as the war in Iraq began this time last year.

Presidents Reagan and Clinton both had approval numbers as low as Bush's in their first terms - albeit earlier in the term. Reagan won Ohio after having a 52 percent approval rating at this time in 1984; but Bush's father lost Ohio with the same approval rating at this point in 1992.

Eric Rademacher, co-director of the poll, said the electorate is far more polarized than either of those years, shrinking the number of swing voters.

Those Ohioans - who may make up 10 percent of voters - seem to support Bush on foreign policy issues but oppose him on the economy, Rademacher said.

The telephone poll of 856 adults has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.

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E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com