Bush's approval rating

[crosspatrick]

(CBS) After rising in public support following the capture of Saddam Hussein, the President gives his State of the Union message next week with a decidedly less positive audience. His approval rating of 50% matches his lowest approval ratings ever, and the largest number ever – 45% - disapprove.

BUSH JOB APPROVAL

Now

Approve

50%

Disapprove

45%

12/20-22/2003

Approve

60%

Disapprove

33%

This decline (from 60% approval the week after Saddam’s capture) comes after former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill’s criticisms of the Administration in a book and in interviews, and after continuing attacks on American troops in Iraq. And there is other bad news for the President.

Less than half now approve of how he is handling the situation in Iraq. 51% say the war was not worth the costs.

Two of the President’s just-launched initiatives have met with negative public assessment. Most Americans oppose temporary work permits for illegal immigrants and don’t think a permanent space station on the moon is worth it.

Just 41% say the President has the same priorities on the issues they do.

Only 30% say he is more interested in protecting the interests of ordinary Americans than in protecting the interests of large corporations. Just 39% -- fewer than before -- have confidence in his ability to make the right economic decisions.

Looking ahead, registered voters are evenly split on whether they would now vote for President Bush or the as-yet-unnamed Democrat in November. But most think the President will win that race.

The Democratic candidates, campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire, have also spent time attacking the President (as well as attacking each other). Nationally, Howard Dean still leads among Democratic primary voters, with 24% of the vote. Wesley Clark and Dick Gephardt are also in double digits.

Overall, most Americans say things in the country are worse now than they were five years ago. 57% say things are worse now, while 21% say they’re better. But they are more optimistic than pessimistic about the future. Looking ahead five years, 45% say things will be better than they are today, while 26% think things will be worse.

[anotherway83]

well, i'm just glad people are finally beginning to wake up!!!

[pattbateman]

people have been up

[pattbateman]

clintons was lower then bush's!!

Bush's third-year average is middling when compared to other presidents' third-year scores. Since the Truman presidency, four presidents have had higher third-year averages than Bush: Dwight Eisenhower (72%), John Kennedy (62%), Lyndon Johnson (65%), and the elder George Bush (70%). Six recent presidents have had lower averages than the current president: Harry Truman (58%), Richard Nixon (50%), Gerald Ford (49%), Jimmy Carter (37%), Ronald Reagan (45%), and Clinton (47%).

[jamiroguy1]

It's likely to go up from the morons they poll after the state of the union address.

[mr mahs]

FONT=century gothic]Bush's job approval rating, 58 percent in the ABC-Washington Post poll taken Sunday, is higher than for any president at this point in his term since President Eisenhower in 1956. Bush's poll numbers are buoyed by his leadership on the fight against terrorism - 66 percent approval - but dragged down by concerns over domestic issues, such as health care, immigration and the economy.