Bible-rousers: As if it weren’t already bad enough for the Worst President Ever, white Protestant evangelicals — who helped George Bush take the White House — are joining the rest of us in giving a big thumbs down for the prez’ performance, according to recent analysis by the Pew Research Center.

As Bush’s job approval rating continues to set new low records, Republicans are beginning to worry about the weakened president’s impact on his party’s performance in the fall mid-terms. And without the evangelicals’ support Bush’s slump bodes ill for the Repugs’ prospects this fall.

Pew finds that while a majority of white evangelical Protestants still support the president, significantly fewer approve of his performance in office now (55 percent approve, 38 percent disapprove) than at the start of his second term when 72 percent approved and only 22 percent disapproved.

Since the beginning of his second term in office, Bush’s approval rating has declined as much among white evangelicals as among the public as a whole. His personal ratings among evangelicals are more negative than ever before — 35 percent now have an unfavorable view of Bush, compared with 21 percent of registered evangelical voters in October 2004. And 45 percent of evangelicals agreed with the statement that “I am tired of all the problems associated with the Bush administration.”

Pew found little indication that evangelicals are likely to abandon the Republican Party — after all, who else are they going to vote for? Catholic John Kerry!?

No, white Protestant evangelicals might be disappointed in George Bush’s performance, but they are going to stick with the party that supports school vouchers, prayer in school, teaching creationism and taking away a woman’s right to choose. What option do they have?

But maybe, just maybe they won’t be so damned fervently Republican in the midterms. Hmmm, what would Jesus do?