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So far, evangelicals have not run out of patience. In 2003, 77 percent of white evangelicals approved of Bush's decision to launch the war in Iraq. By last October, evangelical support for the Iraq war was down only to 68 percent.

Non-evangelical support for the Iraq war has always been lower than evangelical support. By August 2004, support for the war dropped below 50 percent for the first time. In October 2005, a majority of non-evangelicals believed that the Iraq war was wrong.

In the church interviews in New York, Texas, and California, Christianity Today found that Bush's evangelical core supporters still trust the President and give him solid personal endorsement. But they report being dissatisfied with his on-the-job performance and many administration policies.

Opinion poll analyst John Green at the Bliss Institute at the University of Akron told CT that almost 40 percent of white evangelicals are disenchanted with the President's leadership in one particular or another.

On the policy side, the Bush administration has earned high marks for giving access to federal funds to faith-based groups providing social services, for funding abstinence programs against HIV/AIDS, and for making peace between Muslims and Christians in Sudan a priority.

But some policy implementation has been slow in coming. NAE's Cizik says the administration has for five years been handing out reassurances, saying, "We're working on this." Cizik notes that as far as evangelicals are concerned, the Bush administration has earned its "slow-to-deliver" reputation.

Evangelicals give mixed reviews regarding President Bush's handling of hurricane disaster relief, but most seem to be disillusioned.

African American church leaders told CT they found it nearly impossible to defend Bush in the face of images of poor African Americans marooned in New Orleans.

A. R. Bernard of New York City's Christian Cultural Center traveled to Houston to join African American leaders in support of the President's relief plan. But they also expressed deep unhappiness with many aspects of the federal response. One pastor told CT, "The President's flyover look at New Orleans sent the wrong message. He should have been on the ground with the people from day one."

African American pastors say the weak initial response set back their new partnership with Bush. The Presidents's compassionate conservatism seemed to be building a bridge between the races. The administration's response to the Gulf Coast disaster has stalled that bridge building.

By contrast, Bush's white evangelical core is more supportive of Bush's handling of Katrina. Leaders told CT that they point the finger at the incompetence of state and local politicians. Fall 2005 polls show that overall evangelical support had a temporary dip due to the Bush administration's Katrina missteps. Pollster Green says that the missed opportunities of disaster relief added to the sense among evangelicals that, under Bush, "Things don't seem to be performing as expected."

Bush supporters observe that the administration's remaining 36 months give it ample time to recover. Pollster Green agrees. "If the U.S. was able to capture Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the President's approval rating would really shoot up."

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February 2006, Vol. 50, No. 2