Bush's Approval Rating Tops 50 Percent in Latest Gallup Poll
Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- For the first time since April, more than half of Americans surveyed said they approve of the job President George W. Bush is doing, according to a Gallup Poll.
Bush's approval rating rose to 51 percent in a nationwide survey of 1,017 adults, conducted Aug. 9-11, from a low of 46 percent in May 7-9 poll. The last time his approval rating topped 50 percent was in a poll taken April 16-18, when 52 percent of those surveyed said they approved of his performance.
Fifty percent is a significant threshold for an incumbent president. The last five presidents who won second terms -- Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, and Dwight Eisenhower -- had approval ratings above 50 percent in June of their re-election years, according to a Gallup analysis.
The Gallup survey also found that Bush leads his Democratic opponent, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, 50 percent to 47 percent heading into this year's Nov. 2 presidential election. That is little changed from a July 30-Aug. 1 Gallup poll, which showed Bush leading 51 percent to 47 percent. |
