Bush's Popularity Reaches Historic Lows

CBS News' Kathy Frankovic: Bush Likely To Leave Office As The Least Popular President In Polling History

(CBS)  This column was written by CBS News director of surveys Kathy Frankovic.

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As the days of second and final term dwindle down (“to a precious few,” as an old song goes), President Bush is likely to leave office as the least popular president in polling history.

Presidents usually benefit from at least a little pre-departure nostalgia when their successors are about to take office. At the beginning of Harry Truman’s last year in office, he had only a 22 percent approval rating (a Gallup Poll low point).

But Truman bounced back to 32 percent in December, a month before Dwight D. Eisenhower was inaugurated.

Jimmy Carter’s CBS News/New York Times Poll approval rating dropped to 25 percent in November, 1979. He left office in January 1981, having lost to Ronald Reagan by ten points.

American hostages had been held in Iran for more than a year, and were finally released only as Carter was flying back home to Georgia. And yet, although the economy was still in terrible shape, a few days after Carter left office, Americans were equally divided in their assessment of his term: (44 percent approved and 44 percent disapproved of the way he had handled his job).

Another recent one-term president, George H.W. Bush, lost his re-election bid, but by a smaller margin than Carter’s. And he fared better than Carter with the public when he left office.

Looking back, 54 percent of Americans approved of the way the first President Bush handled his job. Just six months before, in the recession of 1992 (and while he was running for re-election), his approval rating had been 23 points lower - 31 percent.

Considering his entire four-year term, Americans could remember President Bush’s high point: just after the successful conclusion of the Persian Gulf War, when his approval rating was 88 percent.

Both of our two most recent two-term presidents - Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton -- ended their eight years in office with high marks. Each had approval ratings of 68 percent when he left office.

While neither reached the high level of support that the first President Bush had after the Persian Gulf War, neither ever fell as low in their eight years in office.

The current President Bush matched and even bested his father’s high approval ratings after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

But the low overall assessments of the younger Bush have been extraordinary.

Never in his entire second term did even half of Americans approve of the way he was handling his job, according to our CBS News Polls. Indeed, for the last year and a half, George W. Bush’s approval rating has never risen above 30 percent -- a lower figure than every single rating CBS News measured for his father.

The president’s approval rating first fell below 40 percent after the administration’s slow response to Hurricane Katrina in September 2005; it was barely above 40 percent the next January, but it would never again go that high.

Why has this president’s approval rating stayed so low for so long? There are other reasons besides Katrina. There’s no doubt that as the war in Iraq dragged on, Americans became more and more distressed about how it was being carried out.

In April 2003, 79 percent had approved. But by January 2004, fewer than half the public approved of how the President was handling the war in Iraq, and that number kept declining.

The worsening economy, too, took a toll; and Americans tend to be especially harsh in their judgments when issues hit as close to home as economic issues do. Jimmy Carter’s economic approval ratings were frequently in the teens (15 percent in mid-1979); George W. Bush’s approval rating on the economy sank to 16 percent last September, and has not recovered much since then.

Only at the start of his first term, and in the months following 9/11 did a majority of Americans approve of the way this president was handling the economy.

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Interactive Graphic: Bush's Approval Rating Through The Years

PDF: Historical Highs And Lows

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The president’s response to terrorism was his strong suit with the public - there was consistent majority approval through most of 2005. Subsequently, approval has only occasionally reached that level; and since 2007, majorities have expressed disapproval here, too.

CBS News has been measuring presidential approval for almost 35 years; and Gallup, which first posed the question in public opinion polls, has been doing it twice as long, starting during Franklin Roosevelt’s second term.

Compared with the early days of both polls, there is much more partisanship today in how people answer poll questions. When Jimmy Carter hit his lowest approval rating (26 percent) in 1979, relatively few members of his own party were willing to say they approved, either. Carter’s approval rating among Democrats was just 32 percent. Fewer Republicans approved of the Democratic President, but the party approval gap was only in the teens.

But in our December, 2008 poll, there was a 50-point gap in the way Democrats and Republicans viewed President Bush. Fifty-seven percent of Republicans continued to approve of how George W. Bush was handling his job, while only seven percent of Democrats did!

Even now, as Americans express optimism about the impending Obama presidency, and there is talk of “post-partisanship,” a partisan chasm remains.

CBS News will report one more approval measurement before President Bush leaves office. Right now, Americans remember the bad times more than the good times when they evaluate President Bush.

But while we talk a post-partisan game, so far we are viewing the Obama presidency through partisan lenses. A gap of 56 points divides Democrats and Republicans on the question of what kind of President Americans expect Barack Obama to be. Eight-four percent of Democrats expect him to be a good or very good president; but just 28 percent of Republicans say the same.

[messiahx4eve]

George W. Bush is the greatest president of my lifetime.
Of course the MSM has bashed him from 911 until today. No other person in history has been belittled like GWB. I would venture to guess that even the Mesiah, BHO would not be able to hold up under the constant bashing of all the MSM. MSNBC, CBS, CNN, PBS, NBC, none of them has the guts to report what GWB has done that is good.
God Bless George W. Bush. He is my Hero, I salute him because he was a Real Comander In Chief!!

God Bless George W. Bush. A great American Hero.

Posted by Platteman

I respect any person who can feel the need to exhonarate a hero, even if its one out of two hundred and forty million, even his mother loved her son, his wife, and probably a few others, allow them their moment to truly reflect. Yes, to the other 98 percents, bush and howdy doody were cut from the same wood and thus the same, this is the legacy of dubya, the perfect puppet of misdirection, while the real criminals worked in secret. We were merely the audience, duped for one thin dime, a tenth of a dollar. His legacy is also OUR legacy as well.

[downtowner97]

George W. Bush is the greatest president of my lifetime.
Of course the MSM has bashed him from 911 until today. No other person in history has been belittled like GWB. I would venture to guess that even the Mesiah, BHO would not be able to hold up under the constant bashing of all the MSM. MSNBC, CBS, CNN, PBS, NBC, none of them has the guts to report what GWB has done that is good.
God Bless George W. Bush. He is my Hero, I salute him because he was a Real Comander In Chief!!

God Bless George W. Bush. A great American Hero.


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Posted by Platteman

This must have been written during a commercial break on FOX news, the only "news" outlet not mentioned.

[notmudrose1]

just 2 days, 21 hours, 20 minutes until nazi bush is gone and President Obama begins 8 years as your president.

[notmudrose1]

platteman, go into scotts bluff and kill yourself.

[notmudrose1]

what would you expect for scum nazis like bush. the people who approve of him are nazi scum also.

[mitch5511]

Thank Goodness Bush is leaving. This country can''t take much more of the Bush so-called legacy!

[babooph]

Truman,like Bush,was a very poor president,Bush must be far worse than Truman.

[mgeorge113]

I thank God that President Bush had the courage to stand up to terrorists, the liberal media, the UN, and the like. Leadership is no a popularity contest, and low approval ratings often come from a leader who is willing to make tough calls, and not worry about his "legacy" as it were.

[platteman]

George W. Bush is the greatest president of my lifetime.
Of course the MSM has bashed him from 911 until today. No other person in history has been belittled like GWB. I would venture to guess that even the Mesiah, BHO would not be able to hold up under the constant bashing of all the MSM. MSNBC, CBS, CNN, PBS, NBC, none of them has the guts to report what GWB has done that is good.
God Bless George W. Bush. He is my Hero, I salute him because he was a Real Comander In Chief!!

God Bless George W. Bush. A great American Hero.

[lostcountry1]

hey cbs, i just searched every page to see my truthful post about this corrupt administration, and you have obviously removed it. whats the matter? are you afraid to let people know the truth about 9/11 and this corrupt administration? your no better than "fox news" for your own spin on the news. i guess you are some of the ones that took the "bush money" to look the other way! you suck, and are traitors to all americans for your suppression of the truth.

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by Questionnews

You might consider that the Southeast Asian conflict, after Korea, was started when Cambodia rebelled against the French colonialist slave holders. Eisenhower responded, but in secret, because such military aid was not legal. The French suddenly pulled out, but the US military found several cash cows, secret, unaccountable spending, and the heroin trade among others, so they stayed.

Kennedy indicated that he was going to end our involvement, as it had no legal basis, but he died before he could get it done.

The conflict did not relocate to Vietnam until Johnson''s "Tonkin Gulf incident", the lie that said Vietnamese PT boats attacked a US ship, which the pentagon later admitted never happened. This lie was used by Johnson as a pretext for the escalation of military hostilities against Vietnam, a country that never attacked us (sound familiar?)

Get the information, it was eisenhower, and Johnson, Kennedy was the enemy of a corrupt US military at the time.

[rushlimpdrug]

Who are the crazy lazy liberals going to hate and blame everything on???? oh my oh my
Posted by jodyrae4 at 10:42 AM

Hey reeetard it isn''t about being a liberal or conserv.

It is was just difficult for the bush to FOOL a large
portion of Americans for eight years.

[jodyrae4]

Who are the crazy lazy liberals going to hate and blame everything on???? oh my oh my

[lastdance135]

The NAZI Fascist Bush Crime Regime
The Republican NAZI Fascist Party
Can Not get it Through Their Heads

The WHOLE World Knows
The Republican NAZI Fascist Party
Has Have Been - EXPOSED - For WHO they Really Are and
WHAT they Really Are ! ! !

EMISSARIES of That -

That is :
THE DESTROYER - of - WORLDS

JOB DESTROYERS __ WAGE PACKAGE DESTROYERS
WORKING MIDDLE CLASS AMERICA DESTROYERS
FAMILY UNIT DESTROYERS __ HOME OWNERSHIP DESTROYERS
ECONOMY DESTROYERS __ CREDIT DESTROYERS
DEMOCRACY DESTROYERS __ CIVIL RIGHTS DESTROYERS
WORLD PEACE DESTROYERS __ BANK DESTROYERS
INVESTMENT DESTROYERS
UNITED STATES SOVEREIGNTY DESTROYERS
UNITED STATES INDEPENDENCE DESTROYERS
WORLD ECONOMY DESTROYERS
WORLD RELIGION DESTROYERS

ECONOMIC STRIFE That is Being used as a Weapon to :
ELIMINATE a DEMOCRACY and REPLACE IT With :
The Totalitarian Dictatorship of : A NAZI FASCIST RULE
Against : The Populace of the United States and
The rest of The World

Any Corporation or POLITICAL INFLUENCE __ That has Supported and Assisted in :
The Achievement of : PURPOSELY and INTENTIONALLY
DESTROYING : The DEMOCRATIC INFRASTRUCTURE and
The ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE of The United States is an :
Act of TREASON

The Republican NAZI Fascist Party - Representatives of :
The Peak and Pinnacle of : WICKEDNESS - IMMORALITY and Everything
That is - EVIL - In The World

[questionnews]

Yes I agree, Kennedy was an another idiot who killed Americans needlessly.

I''''m not sure how many lies Kennedy told us and how much fake intel he fabricated to get us into the war but I suspect it''''s less than the 935 lies that George W Bush told.

If you were to trade every lie for a dead soldier (I''ll take that any day)it still wouldn''t come close to the number of dead under Kennedy & Co''s watch. The History Channel chronicled how (believe it or not) Hillary Clinton (Rodham at the time) through research at the GAO uncovered how the Kennedy administration was diverting funds & equipment from Korea & excess surplus from WWII to hide the real cost of the Vietnam war from the public. If you think that past administrations didn''t lie their azzes off & were deceiving the American public, your delusional. The big difference between now & then is the amount of instant communications courtesy of the internet.

[jerr11]

Kennedy should rank worse than Bush or even Bin Laden.

Posted by Questionnews at 06:01 PM : Jan 16, 2009




Yes I agree, Kennedy was an another idiot who killed Americans needlessly.

I''m not sure how many lies Kennedy told us and how much fake intel he fabricated to get us into the war but I suspect it''s less than the 935 lies that George W Bush told.



I don''t have a problem with war. I''m all for the war in Afghanistan and if we lose 50,000 more to fight the taliban, so be it.

But Iraq was a war of greed to benefit Cheney and his buddies and to remove Israel''s enemy in Saddam.

Why do you think the greatest hawks were the Israeli moles like Wolfowitz and Perl!

Worse, we were led into the war with lies and phony intel cooked up by ******** Cheney and his gang of crooks.

Bush and his admin used a national disaster to turn a profit for himself and his buddies.

And he killed 4226 Americans while lining his pockets!

[treknutz]

Adolf Eichmann, Joseph Mengele, George W. Bush....pre-law, pre-med... same thing!

[questionnews]

What''''s the difference between Bin Laden and George W Bush?

1226 Dead Americans.

Bin Laden killed 3000 Americans.

Bush killed 4200 Americans and counting!

Bush wins hands down!!

Heckuva job!!


Posted by jerr11 at 05:50 PM : Jan 16, 2009

If you are talking numbers you can''t forget some even larger numbers. The over 50,000 dead between Kennedy/Johnson and & Nixon. More died under Kennedy/Johnson than Nixon but not by many. So if your measuring stick is the number of dead in useless wars then Kennedy should rank worse than Bush or even Bin Laden.

[jerr11]

The worst modern president... by a wide margin... was Jimmy Carter. Under his presidency there was an oil embargo and you couldn''''t buy gas at any price. Mortgage rates hit 20%.


Posted by gctomajtom at 03:50 PM : Jan 16, 2009


I agree Carter was an incompetent and weak president.

But he was an honorable man.

He did not start a phony war with fake intel and 935 lies to enrich his buddies and call it a "war on terror"

What''s the difference between Bin Laden and George W Bush?

1226 Dead Americans.

Bin Laden killed 3000 Americans.

Bush killed 4200 Americans and counting!

Bush wins hands down!!

Heckuva job!!

[jerr11]

A little scripture reading for the Liar-in-Chief:

Proverbs 6:16-19

[16]There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: [17]haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, [18]a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, [19]a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.


George W Bush - Son of Satan.

Damned for All Time!!