US President George W. Bush's popularity has tumbled below 50 per cent, with dissatisfaction mounting sharply over his handling of the Iraq war, foreign affairs and the economy, a new poll showed.

The poll published by USA Today, CNN and the Gallup organisation showed Senator John Kerry, the leading Democratic candidate for president, opening up a seven-point lead over the Republican Bush in a head-to-head matchup.

The poll was conducted from Thursday to Sunday, after the chief US arms inspector resigned and said he found no trace of the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that Bush used to justify last year's invasion.

Forty-nine per cent of the 1,001 people interviewed said they approved of the overall way Bush was doing his job, while 48 per cent disapproved and three per cent had no opinion.

A similar poll conducted January 2-5 found 60 per cent approved of Bush and 35 per cent disapproved. The president's popularity was also down from the 70 per cent approval registered just after the fall of Baghdad last April.

The new survey showed that 46 per cent approved of the president's performance on Iraq, down from 61 per cent four weeks earlier. The disapproval rate rose from 36 to 53 per cent.

For the first time in the USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll, less than half of those interviewed thought it was worth going to war in Iraq to oust the dictator Saddam Hussein.

Approval of Bush's foreign policies dropped from 58 to 46 per cent, while disapproval jumped from 39 to 51 per cent. Support for his handling of the economy fell from 54 to 43 per cent.

The new poll came with Bush increasingly on the defensive over the failure to find the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which he said had made military action urgent.

It was published the same day the president bowed to growing pressure from both Republicans and Democrats and announced an independent inquiry into pre-war intelligence on Saddam's weapons capabilities.

Bush also drew heat after unveiling Monday a revised budget for 2004 with a record 521 billion dollar deficit, leaving himself open to new charges from the Democrats that he was mismanaging the economy.

The poll, taken right after the New Hampshire primary, showed Kerry leading the field in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination with a 49-14 per cent edge over former Vermont governor Howard Dean. North Carolina Senator John Edwards was third with 13 per cent.

Kerry has opened up a 53-46 per cent lead over Bush in a one-on-one contest for the White House, according to the poll. Edwards was also on top 49-48 per cent in a face-off with the president.

But the poll showed Bush leading both Dean and former NATO commander Wesley Clark.

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