Bush's Approval in a Historical Context

Worst…support…ever

Posted 9:13 am | Printer Friendly

Every time a new poll comes out showing Bush's faltering support nationwide, I think, "OK, now he's reached the floor of his support." And yet, the floor manages to fall a little further all the time.

A new CBS News poll suggests the bottom has completely fallen out for the president, thanks in large part to the public's reaction to the Plame scandal. If Bush's support drops much further, it's not ridiculous to wonder if his presidency will ever be able to recover.

* Approval rating — Bush is down to just 35% support. His favorability rating, usually high despite low job approval ratings, is down to just 33%.

* On the issues — 47% support Bush's handling of the war on terror, 34% support his handling of the economy, and 32% support his handling of the war in Iraq.

* Cheney — Though the poll doesn't gauge Cheney's approval rating, his favorability rating is down to a stunning 19%.

* The war in Iraq — A combined 64% of poll respondents believe the Bush administration either intentionally hid key information or was mostly lying about WMD before the war began.

* Plame Game — Asked about the scandal's significance, 51% said the Plame matter is of "great importance," while an additional 35% said it's of "some importance." Those are the highest scores for a president scandal since — you guessed it — Watergate.

It's tempting to think Bush has no where to go but up, but then again, we've thought that before.

Just for fun, it's also interesting to consider Bush's plummeting support in a historical context. This graph ran in the Wall Street Journal the other day. Pay particular attention to the Bush/Nixon comparison.