For the first time in his presidency, George W. Bush has an approval rating below 40 percent, according to a new CBS News opinion poll. Also, "Sixty-nine percent of Americans say things in the United States are pretty seriously off on the wrong track—the highest number since CBS News started asking the question in 1983. ... And for the first time in this poll, fewer than half the public approves of the way he is handling the campaign against terrorism."

The Government Accountability Office ruled last week that several aspects of the public relations firm Ketchum's contract with the Department of Education were illegal, constituting "