gallup.com
PRINCETON, NJ -- The latest Gallup poll, conducted March 4-7, shows that 77% of
Americans now approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president --
the first time that Bush's rating has slipped below 80% since the terrorist attacks on
Sept. 11. The first poll after the terrorist attacks showed an approval rating of 86%,
which reached a high of 90% in late September, and remained in the high 80s into
December. Since then, it has slowly declined, although it has remained above the
80% mark longer than any other president's rating since Gallup began measuring job
approval in the 1930s.
George W. Bush’s Job Approval Rating
As shown in the graph below, the decline in Bush's rating has come mostly among
Democrats, and to a lesser extent among independents. Republicans, by contrast,
show little change in approval. This pattern is the reverse of what happened after the
terrorist attacks, when Bush's approval surged most dramatically among Democrats
-- by 51 points, from 27% to 78% approval. The increase among independents was
also noteworthy, from 44% to 84%, while the change among Republicans was more
muted, from 87% to 95%, since they already were giving high ratings to Bush. As
Congress and the news media have turned their attention to other issues of national
concern, partisan differences that had been muted after the terrorist attacks have
once again become prominent. Thus, it is not surprising that Bush's approval is
beginning to decline. |
