Bush's approval rating falls
in AP poll
Seattlepi.com
By WILL LESTER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Friday, January 7, 2005 · Last updated 8:10 p.m.
PT
WASHINGTON -- President Bush is entering his second term with
the lowest approval ratings of any recent two-term president,
even as he talks about an ambitious agenda of change, an
Associated Press poll finds.
Congress is viewed even more negatively - a troubling sign for
Bush and Congress as they tackle such proposals as creating
private accounts for those in the Social Security system,
overhauling the federal tax code and limiting lawsuit
damages.
Bush's approval rating is at 49 percent in the AP poll with 49
percent disapproving among all of those polled. His job approval
is in the high 40s or low 50s in several other recent polls - as
low as any job approval rating for a re-elected president at the
start of the second term in more than 50 years.
Presidents Reagan and Clinton had job approval ratings near
six in 10 just before their inauguration for a second term,
according to Gallup polls.
President Nixon's approval was in the 60s right after his 1972
re-election, slid to about 50 percent right before his
inauguration and then moved back over 60 percent. President
Eisenhower's job approval was in the low 70s just before his
second inauguration in 1957.
About four in 10, 41 percent, approve of the job Congress is
doing, while 53 percent disapprove, according to the poll
conducted for the AP by Ipsos Public Affairs.
The nation's sharply partisan divide is responsible for Bush's
job ratings.
Republicans overwhelmingly approve of Bush's job performance
and Democrats overwhelmingly disapprove - a split found to a
lesser extent in the congressional numbers.
Only one in six Democrats say they approve of Bush's job
performance, the poll found. In January 2002, six in 10 Democrats
approved of the job done by Bush, contributing to an overall job
approval rating near 80 percent four months after the Sept. 11,
2001, terrorist attacks. In January of last year, about
one-quarter of Democrats approved of the job done by Bush.
Rick Dickinson, a cabinet maker from Charlottesville, Va., and
a Democrat, said he liked what he saw from Bush after the
terrorist attacks, but those feelings have faded.
"I thought he did generally well after 9/11. He was decisive
and he had some great momentum," Dickinson said. "But now I
basically disapprove of him. The war troubles me. He picks a plan
- regardless of the information - and he goes with it."
Bush has intense support from Republicans. More than nine in
10 said they approve of his job performance.
"I very strongly support what he's been doing," said Cheryl
McGauvran, a teacher in a Christian school who says she lives in
the desert southeast of Los Angeles. "If we had somebody in
office who waffled we would be in trouble. It's almost better to
be wrong and then correct it, than to vacillate and be
stomped."
People were evenly divided on Bush's handling of the economy.
They take a dim view of his handling of Iraq, with 44 percent
approving and 54 percent disapproving, according to the poll of
1,001 adults. It was taken Jan. 3-5 and has a margin of sampling
error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Even on Bush's strongest area, handling foreign policy and the
war on terrorism, people were evenly split - with 50 percent
approving and 48 percent disapproving.
For much of the last year, the public has been fairly evenly
divided on Bush's job approval. He was still able to win about 60
million votes - a record number but just 51 percent of votes cast
- at a time most people thought the country was headed down the
wrong track.
Bush's willingness to pursue policies even if unpopular is
appealing to some voters.
Gene Kuterboch, a state worker who lives in Stowe, Pa., says
he's been a Democrat all his life, but he voted for Bush this
time because Democrat John Kerry "seemed to be following the
polls."
"I voted for President Bush because I think he took a stand
after what went on with the terrorist attacks," Kuterboch said.
"We need a leader."
On the Net:
Ipsos Public Affairs: http://www.ap-ipsosresults.com
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