Thirty-four percent say they are about right, while just three percent think they are tougher than necessary.

And while more than two-thirds of Americans support the way Bush is handling his job overall, only about half approve of the way he has responded to recent corporate scandals.

A slim 51-percent majority say they favor the way Bush has responded to Enron, WorldCom, Tyco and other accounting scandals, while 32 percent disapprove and 17 percent are not sure. And while Bush’s overall approval rating is still strong at 68 percent, that is the lowest level since the September 11 attacks.

Americans are similarly split in their opinion about reforms approved last week by the U.S. Senate. Almost two-thirds of those polled say the corporate-reform legislation, which includes criminal penalties for executives who defraud investors or harm employee pensions, would have only a minor effect (48 percent) or no effect at all (14 percent) on reducing future corporate wrongdoing. Only 26 percent think it will have a major effect.

Opinion is split as well over which party has a better approach to dealing with accounting fraud and other wrongdoing by business executives. Thirty-eight percent favor President Bush’s plan, while 31 percent say they like the Democratic plan-and eight percent say they don’t favor either approach.

A 51-percent majority of Americans think that President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney’s former business background makes them better able to deal with the corporate scandals and help them develop policies to reduce corporate wrongdoing. But 38 percent say their pasts make them less likely to support the kinds of policies needed to deal with the scandals and reduce corporate wrongdoing.

Only half of those polled think President Bush behaved responsibly when he served as a corporate executive and board member (with 23 percent saying he did not, and 27 percent saying they do not know). But only about one-third of Americans (35 percent) say the same about Cheney’s behavior in business, while 27 percent say he did not behave responsibly and 38 percent do not offer an opinion.

Americans are not so divided in their assessment of the U.S. economy, with more than three-quarters of respondents rating the current state of the economy as fair (48 percent) or poor (28 percent). Only 21 percent of Americans think it is in good shape. Americans are slightly more optimistic about the future economic outlook. Forty-five percent say conditions will be better next year, while 35 percent say they will remain the same, and 16 percent say the economy will be worse in a year.

While most Americans say they have not been greatly affected by the drop in the stock market and the economic downturn, about one-third say they now feel less secure about their job (32 percent). Thirty-four percent feel they won’t be able to continue living the kind of lifestyle they’ve become accustomed to and 35 percent worry they won’t be able to retire as early as they’d like. Twenty-two percent think they won’t be able to afford to send a child to the kind of college they’d like.

Despite such concerns, most Americans are not making dramatic changes in their lifestyles or investment strategies. The vast majority say they haven’t made any recent changes in how they save or invest money or how they will do so in the future. And while 54 percent say they are cutting back their overall spending, about two-thirds of those polled say they have not cut back on spending plans for travel or entertainment (like sporting events, movies, or dining out). Just 21 percent say they have delayed or are canceling plans to buy a new home or make major home improvements , 22 percent say the same about plans to purchase a new car, and 23 percent about making a major household purchase.

Even looking ahead to next year, the majority of those polled say they won’t be any less likely to buy a new home or make major home improvements (61 percent), to buy a new car (59 percent), or to make a major household purchase (64 percent).