President Bush’s approval rating has hovered in the low 40s for the past few months, nearing a fall into the 30s — a la Jimmy Carter — but never quite passing the threshold of 40 percent. But as the American Research Group reports, records are made to be broken.
George W. Bush’s overall job approval ratings have dropped from a month ago even as Americans who approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president are turning more optimistic about their personal financial situations according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. Among all Americans, 36% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 58% disapprove. When it comes to Bush’s handling of the economy, 33% approve and 62% disapprove.
Among Americans registered to vote, 38% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 56% disapprove, and 36% approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 60% disapprove.
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Among Republicans (35% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 77% approve of the way Bush is handling his job and 18% disapprove. Among Democrats (37% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 15% approve and 81% disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job. Among Independents (28% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 21% approve and 72% disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job as president.
In addition to the fact that the President’s approval rating has fallen six points in a month and has dipped into the 30s, two other interesting facts emerge from the polling.
President Bush is losing some support from his base. Seventy seven percent approval among Republicans is impressive, but it’s still more than 10 points less than it was just a few months ago.
More importantly, independents’ views of Bush are nearly identical to those of the Democrats. While this does not necessarily imply a major shift underway in America, should independents continue to share political leanings with Democrats — especially through next fall’s elections — the Republicans could find it increasingly difficult to maintain their Congressional majorities.
originally posted to my blog, Basie!
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.