WASHINGTON, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Americans currently have a bleaker view of the country's direction than at any time in more than two decades, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll published on Wednesday.

    Seventy percent of respondents to the poll said the country was heading in the wrong direction, compared with 23 percent who said they approved of the direction in which the country was heading.

    The findings suggested that Americans were more pessimistic about the country's direction than at any time in the 23 years that the Times and CBS News have asked the question.

    U.S. President George W. Bush's approval ratings for his handling of foreign policy, Iraq and the economy have fallen to the lowest levels of his presidency in the poll.

    Only 39 percent of respondents said going to war in Iraq was the correct decision, down from 47 percent in January, and two thirds said they had little or no confidence that Bush could successfully end the war.

    Sixty-three percent disapproved of the president's handling of foreign policy in general.

    On the issues that have been at the top of the national agenda in recent months, in particular immigration and gasoline prices, just 13 percent approved of Bush's handling of rising gasoline prices, and about a quarter said they approved of his handling of immigration.

    Bush's overall job approval rating has hit a new low of 31 percent in the poll, the lowest approval rating of any president in 50 years; only Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter were viewed less favorably.

    The poll of 1,241 adults was conducted between May 4 and May 8 and has a margin of sample error of plus or minus three percentage points. Enditem