Tozerboy

Bush’s Job Approval In Historical Perspective
by Chris Bowers

Gallup has a terrible new poll for Bush: 31% approve, 65% disapprove. Since the main benefit of the Gallup poll are its trendlines stretching back more than sixty years, here are some facts about this poll in historical perspective:
• A net approval of -34 is worse than the low suffered by either Jimmy Carter (-31) or Bush’s father (-31). Only Truman and Nixon ever fared worse.
• Since 1950, this is the lowest job approval for a President facing midterm elections by more than ten points.
• This is the first poll showing Bush’s disapproval to be more than twice the size of his approval.
• This is the lowest approval rating for Bush in any public surveysince the start of his term.
• A disapproval of 65% ties for the second highest ever recorded.The highest ever recorded was just one point higher, 66%, for Richard Nixonin August of 1974, about one week before he resigned.

It is now reasonable to start talking about Bush in the 20’s, and Bush breaking the all-time record for job disapproval.