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Bush approval: 36%
American Research Group
August 22, 2005

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.

This is the second month in a row when improving economic ratings have not been matched by higher job approval ratings for Bush. A total of 24% of Americans now say their personal financial situations are getting better, up from 17% in July, and 27% say they believe that their personal financial situations will be better off a year from now, which is up from 21% in July.

The increases in the personal financial ratings, however, are coming mainly from those approving of the way Bush is handling his job. A total of 54% of those approving the way Bush is handling his job say their personal financial situations are getting better, compared to 5% of those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job, and 61% of those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his job say they expect to be better off a year from now, compared to 6% of those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job.   

The results presented here are based on 1,100 completed telephone interviews conducted among a nationwide random sample of adults 18 years and older. The interviews were completed August 18 through 21, 2005. The theoretical margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.

Overall, 36% of Americans say that they approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president, 58% disapprove, and 6% are undecided.

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.

Overall, 33% of Americans say that they approve of the way George W. Bush is handling the economy, 62% disapprove, and 5% are undecided. Among registered voters, 36% approve and 60% disapprove of the way Bush is handling the economy.

Among Republicans, 73% approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 25% disapprove. Among Democrats, 83% disapprove of the way Bush is handling the economy and 14% approve. Among Independents, 19% approve and 74% disapprove of the way Bush is handling the economy.

A total of 29% of Americans say that the national economy is getting better, 17% say it is staying the same, and 53% say the national economy is getting worse.

Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his job, 71% say getting better, 14% say staying the same, and 14% say getting worse. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job, 777% say getting worse, 3% say getting better, and 19% say staying the same.

A total of 31% of Americans say they believe the national economy will be better a year from now, 23% say it will be the same, 44% say it will be worse, and 2% are undecided.

Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his job, 73% say better and 16% say they same as today. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job as president, 3% say better, 23% say the same, and 72% say worse.

Overall, 29% of Americans say they believe that the national economy is in a recession and 50% say they do not believe the economy is in a recession.

Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his job, 6% say the national economy is in a recession and 91% say is it not in a recession. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job, 47% say the national economy is in a recession, 20% say the national economy is not in a recession, and 33% are undecided.

A total of 42% of Americans rate the national economy as excellent, very good, or good and 55% rate it as bad, very bad, or terrible.

Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his job, 85% say excellent, very good, or good and 14% say bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of  the way Bush is handling his job, 82% say bad, very bad, or terrible and 15% say excellent, very good, or good.

When it comes to rating their household financial situations, 64% of Americans give an excellent, very good, or good rating and 35% give a bad, very bad, or terrible rating.

Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his job, 87% say excellent, very good, or good and 12% say bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job, 49% say bad, very bad, or terrible and 50% say excellent, very good, or good.

A total of 24% of Americans say they think the financial situations in their households are getting better, 41% say staying the same, and 33% say getting worse.

Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his job, 54% say getting better and 34% say staying the same. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job, 5% say getting better, 46% say staying the same, 47% say getting worse.

Looking to a year from now, 27% of Americans say that they think their household financial situations will be better than today, 41% say the same as today, and 27% say worse than today.

Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his job, 61% say better than today and 37% say the same as today, and 2% say worse than today. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job, 6% say better than today, 44% say the same as today, and 44% say worse than today.

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