Bush's approval ratings have reached the 28% mark, according to CBS News. This exceeds his fathers dismal worst-ever number of 29% and matches Carter's worst-ever number of 28%. Only one president scored lower: Tricky Dick.
In Russia, when Yeltsin's numbers dipped into the single-digit range, Boris Berezovsky told him not to worry: "Modern techniques" would dramatically increase his support as he headed toward election. Those techniques, it seems, included fomenting war with Chechnya.
I'm not predicting anything. Just giving some historical perspective.
5 comments:
Heh. I was just thinking when I saw the CBS poll, "I must see if Joe post—" then I remembered, "Of course he posted it."
Sigh. 28. A new low.
Hurray! Yet another area where Jr has bested his dad.
after tonight when Bush tells America he is taxing health benefits and Americans wake up to find he destroyed the entire American health system in addition to the American way of life... will anyone recall what Mr. Bush told us terrorists do? I do...
Mr. Bush said... terrorists want to change our way of life....
You be the judge.
sofla said...
No, Truman went lower, per Yahoo:
Dear Yahoo!:
Which presidents have received the highest and lowest approval ratings?
Linda
Saginaw, Michigan
Dear Linda:
A 2002 article by Ron Faucheux called "The Ups and Downs of Presidential Popularity," written during the height of President Bush's post-9/11 approval ratings, offers an intriguing historical survey. Presidential approval polls are relatively new. The Gallup Organization started the tradition in 1938, during Franklin D. Roosevelt's second term.
Not surprisingly, the numbers tend to spike in times of war. The record holder for highest approval rating? President George W. Bush, who topped out at 90% in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. His father is the runner-up, with an 89% rating during the first Gulf War. Harry Truman scored 87% in April, 1945, following FDR's death and during the final stages of World War II. FDR achieved 84% after Pearl Harbor.
The all-time worst numbers belong to Harry Truman (23%), who also holds the record for the biggest range in approval rating. George H. W. Bush eventually sank to 29%. Carter hit 28%, and Nixon was at 24% before he resigned. For a great survey of approval ratings and how they can affect elections, check out this 2003 USA Today article.
Don't a lot of sources say Nixon received the lowest approval rating ever, 16%, at the height of the Watergate scandal?
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