For the first time this year, President Bush has broken the 50 percent mark in public opinion, with half of those polled now approving of the way he is performing his role as chief executive.

According to Rasmussen Reports, which conducted the survey, 49 percent of American adults disapprove of his performance.

Broken down by party, Bush earned the approval of 82 percent of Republicans, 25 percent of Democrats and 41 percent of those not affiliated with either major political party.

According to Rasmussen, the president's highest rating of 2005 was 54 percent on Feb. 4, while his lowest rating was 40 percent on Oct. 28. A survey released Jan. 12 of this year showed Bush's lowest rating for 2006 at 43 percent.

The national telephone survey of 1,500 adults was conducted Jan. 27-29. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95 percent level of confidence.

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