Gallup: Bush* Approval Steady at 51% (Approval of Congress Drops)

[tritsofme]

PRINCETON, NJ -- President George W. Bush's job approval rating has remained essentially steady for the past month, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey conducted last week. The Republican-controlled Congress, however, has not fared as well, experiencing a significant drop in approval. At the same time, a majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country, which is no change from the middle of January, but a significant change from early January, when Americans were approaching the new year with a more optimistic attitude.

Bush Approval

The latest poll, conducted Feb. 9-12, shows 51% of Americans approving, and 46% disapproving, of Bush's job performance. In four readings over the past month, his approval rating has fluctuated between 49% and 53%, suggesting little substantive change over that period. But the current rating is down significantly from the middle of last December, after the capture of Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. Although Bush's approval rating had been as low as 50% twice in the fall of 2003, Hussein's capture was followed by a seven-point "rally effect," with public approval of the president's job performance jumping from 56% to 63%.


Bush Approval Rating
Overall and Compared by Party Affiliation
(Percentage Who Approve in Each Group)


The rally lasted only a month, with Bush's approval rating returning to its pre-capture level by the middle of January, and then declining still further at the end of the month. Since then, his approval has remained in the low 50% range.

The greatest fluctuation in Bush's approval is found among Democrats, who went from a 22% approval rating of the president before Hussein's capture to 36% afterward. By contrast, Republicans and independents showed only six-point and five-point rally effects, respectively, from the capture.

Following the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, a Jan. 29-Feb. 1 poll found Bush's approval by Democrats at only 12%, the lowest level of the Bush presidency. By contrast, Republican approval remained at 89%, while approval among independents, at 48%, was still six points higher than the low for that group in mid-November of last year. The low rating among Democrats may have reflected the high publicity given to the Democratic candidates, who were as likely to criticize the president as each other.
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http://www.gallup.com/content/?ci=10654

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. Someone please give this man a blow job. (I don't mean anyone from here)

That way we can impeach him and accuse him of everything that has gone wrong in the world so far this millennium. 51% approval WTF is wrong with us.

[POed_Ex_Repub]

2. Uhm.... ew

:puke:

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

5. I admit I haven't been my usual creative self here lately.

I'm really running out of ideas. It seems like it will take more than an election to get rid of this little weasel and his crime family. I don't doubt he's getting them from someone. We just need to get it on tape. Since being a criminal is not enough for the sheeple, maybe something as trivial as that can finally turn them against him. It almost worked last time.

[DenverDem]

3. Coughing into hand (Bulls**t)

I don't believe a word of any "poll"poganda anymore.

[2004Donkeys]

4. 51% approval is not bad. Kerry still beats Bush.

n/t

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

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[tritsofme]

8. I dont think they put them head to head

in this poll

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[tritsofme]

9. Isn't that special? nt

[Ridley Park 704]

10. so his "will vote for" number must be less than 50%.

51% approval ratings include a lot of people who think he's just ok - doing the best he can....but they have no intention of actually voting for him.

A new CBS poll shows Bush with a 42% "will vote for" rating.

We're going to win!

[OneBlueSky]

11. are that many Americans really that stupid? . . .

I think not . . . at least I hope not . . .

[The_Casual_Observer]

12. At 50% chimp is doing badly

With a stupid uninformed public, it is a lot to ask to expect more than half of a sample of people to know anything. I'll bet half of the population doesn't know that Saddam isn't Osama.

[nolabels]

13. What do you mean by "uninformed public"?

They are indoctrinated daily with diatribe about how * is the best thing since sliced bread. Only 51% bought it seems like we should give credit to the ones that didn't, that 49%

[TruthIsAll]

14. Gallup inflates his numbers by at least 3-5%. He dropped the last 14 days.

They don't want him to fall too low.

At some point they will have to come as he continues to freefall.
They cannot stick out of the pack like a Fox or MSNBC.

[aquart]

15. My beloveds, do you see what they're saying?????

It's THROW THE BUMS OUT for Congress!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my, we may be able to dislodge......oh my! No wonder Hastert was so quick to say outsourcing was bad, bad......oh my! I may be having palpitations!

I'm just going to sit here and flutter my wrist. OH MY!

[Tom Kitten]

16. I don't pay much attention to polls anymore...

They predicted Bush wins the popular vote in 2000 but he lost by half a million votes...

I've been voting since 1980 and have never been polled...

[wabeewoman]

22. LOL!!

Thanks! I needed a good laugh this morning. I agree-lets not miss this message. The republican congress is vulnerable. Its really the only way we can undo all the damage bush has done-take back the CONGRESS! Take back the PRESIDENCY!!

[FlashHarry]

17. Wow! Look at that 'Uniter' go!

88% approval from Republicans and 19% approval from Democrats. Wow! I guess there's hardly any daylight at all between the parties! I guess the only thing left is for all of us--GOP and Dem alike--to head to a hilltop and sing "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing!"

[dusty64]

18. It says a lot

that people are finally seeing the rethugs in Congress as evil despite NO real coverage of all the shit they've pulled over the last three years. Imagine the outrage if they knew as much as we do.

[Racenut20]

19. Dear Democrats, Win the Congress. !!!!!!!!!

Make the chimp a lame duck at the very least.

[Vogon_Glory]

20. Slowly, Dimly, An Awareness Grows

Slowly, dimly, an awareness grows among American citizen/voters that the problems under this administration aren't simply the responsibility of George UU Bush and his underlings--they're the fault of the Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Republicans in the US Senate.

Will the voting public continue to wise up, or will they relapse into torpid acceptance of what they are told by the propaganda mills and the corporate media?

Stay tuned.

[GRClarkesq]

21. I expect another increase for Bush

once Kerry is annointed and the attacks mount on him. Bouces for the conventions, and then we shall see in the only poll that counts.

Kerry was right: the AWOL could have been worth a few points later in the campaign. I think this story will be old news by November.