WASHINGTON (AP) -- More than half of Americans generally approve of the job President Bush is doing and agree with his plans for the budget surplus, says a new poll.

That support tends to slip away, however, when they're asked more specific questions on his proposals, from the fairness of his tax cut to the approval of drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic to the idea of giving government money to less mainstream religious groups, according to the CBS-New York Times poll.

The poll highlights public opinion trends that were evident through much of the presidential campaign -- Americans tend to like Bush better than they like some of his policies.

For example, six in 10 approve of the job Bush is doing and almost that many say they approve of his plans for the surplus.

But when they're asked specifically about the fairness of his tax cut plan, 38 percent said it is fair to all Americans and 56 percent said it mostly benefits the rich. The split was about the same on whether or not people expect the tax cut to make a significant difference for them -- 39 percent said it will and 54 percent said it would not.

By a 2-1 margin, people said that protecting the environment is more important than producing energy and almost six in 10 said they oppose drilling for oil and gas in the protected Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

By a 4-1 margin, people approve of mandatory testing to determine how well a school is doing. But when asked whether federal money should be taken from schools where students test poorly, people were opposed by more than two to one.

On the question of funneling government money to religious organizations to provide social services, people thought it was a good idea by a two-to-one margin.

But when they were asked whether government money should also go to religious groups like the Nation of Islam, the Church of Scientology and the Hare Krishnas, they thought by a 2-1 margin that it was a bad idea.

Four in 10 said the country is headed in the right direction, while just over half, 54 percent, said it's off on the wrong track.

And more people, half, said other people are running the country, while four in 10 said Bush is running things.

The poll of 1,105 people was taken Thursday through Monday and has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.