WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Only 40 percent of Americans approved of President George W. Bush's performance in office, while 58 percent disapproved, a new poll released on Monday showed.

    This was the second time the president's approval rating has hit that a low mark, according to the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.

    On Hurricane Katrina, which has killed nearly 900 people since it struck the Gulf Coast region three weeks ago, only 41 percent of those polled said they approved of Bush's handling of the storm's aftermath, while 57 percent disapproved.

    Public support for his handling of the war in Iraq dropped to 32 percent, with 67 percent said they disapproved of the way Bush was handling the war.

    Fifty-nine percent said they considered the 2003 invasion of Iraq a mistake, 63 percent said they wanted to see some or all US troops withdrawn from that country.

    Just 35 percent of those polled approved of Bush's handling of the economy, with 63 percent saying they disapproved.

    The poll of 818 adults was conducted between Friday and Monday, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Enditem