Bush hits new polling low, er, high

President Bush is nearing what may be a new distinction: an historic 45-point spread between the voters who give his performance a thumbs down and those who are still giving him a thumbs up.

Though this may be an arcane calculation, it's interesting to ponder.

At one moment in his presidency, Richard Nixon registered 66% disapproval rating from voters, against a 24% approval, for a 42-point differential.

Harry Truman, often derided by critics, experienced a range of 43 points between the disapproval and approval numbers.

Santi Tafarella, who blogs at Prometheus Unbound, looked at years of the numbers from the Gallup Poll and concluded that George W. Bush has passed Nixon and Truman to become the president with the widest spread. As is apparent from the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research's chart above, at the moment, the president's disapproval ratings are at 70%, while only 25% gave him positive marks. Which would give him an historic margin of 45 points.

At the University of Connecticut, where Roper is headquartered, political scientists were unsure what to make of the finding. Howard Reiter, who has been tracking Bush's popularity ratings since he took office, marvels that "if you didn’t know anything that happened during the Bush administration" you could look at the chart and figure it out. There's a spike of approval after 9/11, a dip after Hurricane Katrina, and a steady downward trend ever since.

The Bush popularity chart also is a template for larger presidential trends, said Reiter, noting that "the longer presidents are in office, the more people they offend. People get tired of them." Especially after two terms.

Presidents at the end of two terms often get what he called "a nostalgia" effect, where voters forgive them their lapses and wish them well as they leave town. But given the financial crisis, Bush "is not even enjoying that now."

-- Johanna Neuman

Credit: Roper Center for Public Opinion Research

Comments

[VT Moreno]

So Jimmy Carter was right when he said G.W. Bush will go down in history as the worse President we have ever had.

His legacy will be long remembered for decades to come, for the man who along with his conservative cronies ruined our country's moral standings in the world and our economy.

Personally, I think Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and all the other cronies in his administration should be prosecuted for everything they did to us - the lies, the secret activities, the impoverishment of the middle class, etc. etc.. If we are going after Wall Street executives, we should equally go after our government executive branch.

We should keep Guantanamo open just for them...!!

What I am worried about is when Bush leaves we are going to be on a crash course for big government intervention. It's inevitable. McCain talking about bailing out homeowners, Obama doing the same. Socialism here we come. This guy had a good piece out today on McCain and his last-ditch efforts to lure voters:

http://www.greenfaucet.com/blogs/hanlons-pub

[BG]

The worst President in US history. He and his crowd virtually destroyed our way of life. Two unjust wars, Katrina, 911. And the final blow the destruction of our economy. Everyone should send him and Cheny a thank you card for their sterling leadership of our country for the past 8 years

[mary.thomsen@sbcglobal.net]

I gave him a zero approval rating from day one!!! People are finally finally finding out what he really is!

[gary]

note to self.............before you vote for anybody anymore make sure they are not from texas.

LBJ and Bush 1 and baby bush. Texas shoud be given back to mexico along with all the texans.

[Robert Reincke]

I'm curious what about September 11th was it that people liked about Bush. That he decided to use it as rhetoric almost immediately to work his own objective? That he gave elegant speeches? What on earth did people love about Bush...ever...I'm confounded.

[Sal B]

Do you wonder *WHO* are these 25% who still think Bush is doing well, despite everything? On the grading (Gaussian) curve, D and F students in classes make up 21% of students. Those, plus a few C-- students who should have received a D, are the underclass of idiots who support Bush and always will.

[Val]

One could argue that focusing on the spread (as opposed to the approval rating which is most often quoted) is an artificial attempt to find the statistic that presents the president in the poorest light. But spread reflects polarization, indicating that as much as there are diehards who continue to support his policies no matter what, the DISapproval rating is high - there's no middle ground left. Far from arcane, this is a useful (and worrisome) statistic.

[Chuck]

The 25% that still approve of Bush are the rich people that received Bush's tax cuts and businesses that Bush changed laws for so they can plunder the public and loot the U.S. Treasury.

[Ray]

Although George Bush is probably one of the worst presidents we ever had, it goes much deeper than that. This is possibly one of the worst administrations as well. I can not remember a time when US citizens in general and US government specifically have had such a low rating in the world.

We used to be the peace makers, now we are the war makers.

[Rudy]

Bush's disapproval rating should be much lower. The man lied to the American people, took us on the wrong path (war) which has caused over 4,000 young American lives and put us in the deepest financial hole this country has ever seen. He is a War Criminal and the most incompetent person that will ever hold that post. His entire administration should be tried as war criminals and thieves of the United States Treasury. Bush's action have gone beyound Treason.

[bart anderson]

So, given that Clinton's approval ratings were in the 60's when he left office, how does that square with your analysis?

[BG]

Worst President in US history. He has destroyed in 8 years what it took our forefathers 200 years to build.

[Connie Boyd]

Who are the 25 percent who approve, and can we get them some kind of help?

[O2BNTEXAS]

LA Times…LOL...California…LOL...FRUITS AND NUTS...LOL

I’m a REPUBLICAN because not EVERYONE can be on WELFARE!