Washington ? For the first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, rank-and-file Republicans say they are worried about President Bush’s re-election chances based on the feeble economy, the rising death toll in Iraq and questions about his credibility.

“Of course it alarms me to see his poll figures below the safe margins,” said Ruth Griffin, co-chair of Bush’s 2000 campaign steering committee in New Hampshire.

“If he isn’t concerned, and we strong believers in the Bush administration aren’t concerned, we must have blinders on.”

The worries emerged as Griffin and nearly two dozen other GOP stalwarts were interviewed by The Associated Press in advance of the Republican National Committee’s meeting this week in New York, site of the 2004 GOP presidential convention and the starting point of Bush’s wartime surge in popularity.

Bush’s poll ratings skyrocketed after the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center as he led the nation in mourning and then to war with blunt talk and a confidence that soothed an anxious nation. Polls show that about six of every 10 Americans still approve of the way he’s doing his job, a solid rating that buoys Republican hopes that Bush will overcome his current problems and breeze to re-election.

But the president has seen a drop in other early warning indicators, including the number of people expressing confidence in his credibility and leadership along with his handling of the economy and postwar Iraq.

“The economy is touch and go,” said Dick Taylor, another RNC member from Maryland. “I’ve got to believe it recovers really fast. If not, obviously we’ll be in some trouble.”

Republicans said there would be trouble for Bush if postwar Iraq continues to claim the lives of American troops. Another U.S. soldier was killed Tuesday, bringing the total killed in action to 153 — six more than during the 1991 Gulf War.

“This guerrilla warfare is disturbing,” said former Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt, an RNC member from Arkansas.

A recent CNN-Time poll found that 47 percent view Bush as a leader they can trust, down from 56 percent in March. A thin majority of voters said they harbor doubts about his leadership.

Some Republicans say they fear the drop is the result of Democrats harping on 16 words in Bush’s Jan. 28 State of the Union address in which he cited a British report suggesting that Iraq was seeking uranium from Africa for a nuclear weapons program.

The claim has been challenged by U.S. intelligence officials. As the White House moved to shelter Bush from criticism, CIA director George Tenet and deputy national security adviser Steven Hadley apologized for the snafu.

Bush has refused to shoulder any blame himself, drawing criticism from some GOP officials who fear he may damage his image as a straight-shooting, buck-stops-here leader.

There was unanimity among the Republicans that Bush’s word is still golden with them, and they dutifully predicted he would overcome challenges on the economy, postwar Iraq and his handling of intelligence.

“The Democrats have hung their hopes on one sentence,” said former Connecticut GOP chair Chris DePino. “The nation would be better off hanging its hopes on George Bush.”