Public confidence in the Bush administration’s handling of Iraq is slipping, according to a poll that indicates more people now think the United States is not in control of events there.

People were about evenly divided on the question of whether things are going well in Iraq concerning the goal of bringing stability, with 51 percent saying yes and 47 percent saying no, according to the CBS News poll released Friday. In early July, 60 percent said yes and 36 percent said no.

Asked whether the United States is in control in Iraq, 42 percent said yes and 47 percent said no.

Seven in 10, including just more than half of Republicans, say the United Nations should take the lead role in establishing a government in Iraq. The Bush administration is currently discussing what role the United Nations should take in Iraq.

Public sentiment about how things are going in Iraq shows a strong partisan split, with 73 percent of Republicans saying things are going well and 30 percent of Democrats. Independents were evenly split on that question.

Only a third said the United States should decrease the number of U.S. troops there, however.