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Bush Disapproval Rating Makes History

CNN
Posted: 2008-05-28 09:51:08
Filed Under: Nation News, Politics News
WASHINGTON (May 1) - A new poll suggests that President Bush is the most unpopular president in modern American history.

Photo Gallery

Kevin Lamarque, Reuters

Their Lowest Lows

1 of 12    

President George W. Bush
Highest Disapproval Rating: 71 percent (CNN) | 69 percent (Gallup)
Dates of polls: April 29-30, 2008 (CNN) | April 18-20, 2008 (Gallup)


A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Thursday indicates that 71 percent of the American public disapprove of how Bush is handling his job as president.

"No president has ever had a higher disapproval rating in any CNN or Gallup Poll; in fact, this is the first time that any president's disapproval rating has cracked the 70 percent mark," said Keating Holland, CNN's polling director.

"Bush's approval rating, which stands at 28 percent in our new poll, remains better than the all-time lows set by Harry Truman and Richard Nixon [22 percent and 24 percent, respectively], but even those two presidents never got a disapproval rating in the 70s," Holland said. "The previous all-time record in CNN or Gallup polling was set by Truman, 67 percent disapproval in January 1952."

While Gallup polling goes back to the 1930s, it wasn't until the Truman years that they began surveying monthly approval ratings.

CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider adds, "He is more unpopular than Richard Nixon was just before he resigned from the presidency in August 1974."

Story Telling Kit

Which president is worst?

  • George W. Bush
  • George H.W. Bush
  • Bill Clinton
  • Ronald Reagan
President Nixon's disapproval rating in August 1974 stood at 66 percent

The poll also indicates that support for the war in Iraq has never been lower. Thirty percent of those questioned favored the war, while 68 percent opposed it.

"Americans are growing more pessimistic about the war," Holland said. "In January, nearly half believed that things were going well for the U.S. in Iraq; now that figure has dropped to 39 percent."

The numbers on the Iraq war come on the five-year anniversary of Bush's "Mission Accomplished" moment on board the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, when he proclaimed that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended."

The record-low support for the war in a CNN poll could be one reason behind the president's unpopularity, but it probably is not the only one.

"Support for the war, the assessment of the economy and approval of Mr. Bush are all about the same -- bad," Schneider said.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll was conducted by telephone from Monday through Wednesday among 1,008 adult Americans.

The poll's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

President Bush Trivia

Bush is the __ president of the United States.

  • 43rd
  • 44th
  • 45th

Bush attended Yale for his undergraduate degree. Where did he earn his MBA?

  • Brown
  • Princeton
  • Harvard

What's his astrological sign?

  • Cancer
  • Capricorn
  • Taurus

What is wife Laura's maiden name?

  • Polaner
  • Smucker
  • Welch

Which baseball team was he part owner of?

  • Houston Astros
  • Texas Rangers
  • Washington Nationals

His daughter Barbara, left, is named for his mother. Who is his daughter Jenna, right, named for?

  • His grandmother
  • Laura's mother
  • Nobody in particular

What does the W stand for?

  • Winchell
  • Walter
  • Walker


2008-05-01 20:00:55
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Recent Comments

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12645 comments

oklhb2 12:25:36 AM May 21 2008

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clinton was the best president as well as those who did not mess the economy up like stupid retarded BUSH

mmanor 04:52:57 PM May 12 2008

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Bush should have been impeached long ago

spotthelooney420 09:20:20 AM May 12 2008

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www.dumbdubya.com

spotthelooney420 09:19:39 AM May 12 2008

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Type your own comment herewww.dumbdubya.com

spotthelooney420 09:19:13 AM May 12 2008

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www.dumbdubya.com

kunzsp 01:59:30 PM May 10 2008

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I would like to add one more comment. "Even without the prying eyes of
strangers, the president's daughter Jenna's marriage will make
presidential history. It will be remembered as an upbeat moment of
Bush's two-term presidency beset by terrorism."
Phyllis Kunz

kunzsp 01:44:28 PM May 10 2008

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There have been more books written about President Bush than any other
president. He's doing something right.
Phyllis Kunz

manms0808 11:59:42 PM May 09 2008

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oopps that was "The presecution of g w bush for murder" www.prosecutionsofbush.com

manms0808 11:58:28 PM May 09 2008

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I thought you might be interested in a book coming out this may 27 2008 Titled
The prosecution of g.w.bush available May 27th www. prosecutionsofbush.com

kunzsp 11:22:34 AM May 09 2008

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'MORE THAN A YEAR ON, A GROWING CONVENTIONAL WISDOM HOLDS
THAT THE SURGE HAS PAID OFF HANDSOMELY, U.S. CASUALTIES
ARE DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THEIR PEAK IN MID-2007, THE LEVEL OF
VIOLENCE3 IN IRAQ IS LOWER THAN AT ANY POINT SINCE 2005, AND
BAGHDAD SEEMS THE SAFEST IT HAS BEEN SINCE THE FALL OF
SADDAM HUSSEIN'S RGIME FIVE YEARS AGO. SOME BACKERS OF THE
SURGE EVEN ARGUE THAT THE IRAQI CIVIL WAR IS OVER AND THAT
VICTORY ON WASHINGTON'S TERMS IS IN SIGHT, SO LONG AS
THE UNITED STATES HAS THE WILL TO SEE ITS CURRENT EFFORTS
THROUGH TO THEIR CONCLUSION" AND PRESIDENT BUSH HAS
THE WILL WHICH CANNOT, UNFORTUNATELY BE SAID ANY OTHER
POLITICAL FIGURE.

AS MRS. ROOSEVELT SAID ' FOR IT ISN'T ENOUGH TO TALK ABOUT
PEACE, ONE MUST BELIEVE IN IT . AND IT ISN'T ENOUGH TO BELIEVE
IN IT, ONE MUST WORK AT IT." PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH HAS
DEMONSTRATED BOTH; BELIEF AND WILL

PHYLLIS KUNZ

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