Gallup: Bush Approval Rating
Lowest Ever for 2nd-Term Prez at this Point
Editor & Publisher
By E&P Staff
April 05, 2005
NEW YORK It's not uncommon to hear or read pundits referring
to President George W. Bush as a "popular" leader or even a "very
popular" one. Even some of his critics in the press refer to him
this way. Perhaps they need to check the latest polls.
President Bush's approval rating has plunged to the lowest
level of any president since World War II at this point in his
second term, the Gallup Organization reported today.
All other presidents who served a second term had approval
ratings well above 50% in the March following their election,
Gallup reported.
Presidents Truman and Johnson had finished out the terms of
their predecessors, and then won election on their own for a
second term.
Bush's current rating is 45%. The next lowest was Reagan with
56% in March 1985.
More bad signs for the president: Gallup's survey now finds
only 38% expressing satisfaction with the "state of the country"
while 59% are "dissatisfied." One in three Americans feel the
economy is excellent or good, while the rest find it "only fair"
or poor.
Gallup noted that more challenges lie ahead for Bush,
including public doubts about his Social Security plan and Iraq
policies.
Here are the approval ratings for presidents as recorded by
Gallup (all for March):
Truman, 1949: 57%.
Eisenhower, 1957: 65%.
Johnson, 1965: 69%.
Nixon, 1973: 57%.
Reagan, 1985: 56%.
Clinton, 1997: 59% .
Bush, 2005: 45% .
E&P Staff (letters@editorandpublisher.com)
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