Bush's (dis)approval ratings: The tanking of a president
Over the weekend, I mentioned that Bush's approval rating among independents now stands at 17%, one point lower than among Democrats (see here). And now there's more bad news for Dubya. According to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released today (see here), Bush's approval rating stands at 45%, the lowest of his entire presidency (tied with a late-March rating). Looking at the numbers from the other side, his disapproval rating stands at 53%, the highest of his entire presidency. The eight-point gap is also the largest of his entire presidency. Bush has an approval rating over 50% on only one issue, terrorism, where his approval-disapproval rating stands at 55-41. I can only explain this by repeating that Bush has maintained support on this issue largely by alternately playing on fear and encouraging Americans to go shopping instead of paying too much attention to what he's up to (and not up to). Other disapproval-approval ratings (listed by level of disapproval):
Social Security: 64-31
Health care: 59-34
Iraq: 58-40
The economy: 55-41
Energy policy: 53-36
Those are significant numbers. I'm rarely one to pay much attention to polls, and I object to what has become the American pollocracy, but is there any denying that Bush's support among the American people is collapsing? We're talking spreads of at least 14 points on five key issues. Finally, perhaps, the American people are collectively catching on to the disaster that has been the (G.W.) Bush presidency.
It now remains to be seen both what Bush does to try to pick himself back up (I'm thinking desperate measures) and what Democrats do to try to fill the vacuum.
Update: See Kevin Drum's brief take here, along with a fascinating chart of the decline.
Social Security: 64-31
Health care: 59-34
Iraq: 58-40
The economy: 55-41
Energy policy: 53-36
Those are significant numbers. I'm rarely one to pay much attention to polls, and I object to what has become the American pollocracy, but is there any denying that Bush's support among the American people is collapsing? We're talking spreads of at least 14 points on five key issues. Finally, perhaps, the American people are collectively catching on to the disaster that has been the (G.W.) Bush presidency.
It now remains to be seen both what Bush does to try to pick himself back up (I'm thinking desperate measures) and what Democrats do to try to fill the vacuum.
Update: See Kevin Drum's brief take here, along with a fascinating chart of the decline.
posted by Michael J.W. Stickings at
11:39 PM
3 Comments:
One question is whether he ever really had much support among the populace. People respond to how things are going--even if they don't particularly like the policies, the president will generally be popular if things are going well. Bush has pushed his policy so far to the right that, now that things are going badly, he has no residual support. Conservatives have succombed to the fallacy that liberals did for so long (and still do to some extent), ie, thinking that the rest of the country is as conservative as they are.
I think Bush will try to rely on his conservative base. He's not running again anyway and I think he is going to shore up his conservative base even more. I really fear that if he thinks he has lost the middle anyway, he may just say the hell with it, look for the most right wing judge he can find and pick a fight with the Democrats.
By
Anonymous, at 9:59 AM
The only W worth taking seriously is in a band called the Kills.
By
Anonymous, at 2:30 PM
Bush may now play even more to his conservative base, but of course he and Rove are also working to secure his legacy. That could mean trying to get things done in his last few years in office. Perhaps the Gonzales court, for example, would be one of the best ways to do that.
But it's true that Bush has lost much of his support even through to the center-right. His approval is still largely coming from partisan Republicans and far-right conservatives who, let's face it, will never go Democratic.
By
Michael J.W. Stickings, at 4:22 PM
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