Sunday, November 02, 2003 - 12:00 AM
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS |
President Bush's overall job approval rating was at 53 percent in the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. Except for his father in 1991, Bush is the only president since John F. Kennedy with a job approval above 50 percent at this point in his term.
The public tends to like Bush personally and back his efforts fighting terror, but has growing doubts about his handling ofother issues like the economy and Iraq.
A look at presidents over the past four decades, including what year the poll was taken, what happened to the presidents afterward and their job approval rating in Gallup polls at this time of year:
? Democrat John F. Kennedy, 1963, (assassinated before 1964 election): 58 percent
? Democrat Lyndon Johnson, 1967 (did not seek second full term): 41 percent
? Republican Richard Nixon, 1971 (won re-election in 1972 over George McGovern in landslide): 49 percent
? Republican Gerald Ford, 1975 (narrowly lost race to Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976): 44 percent
? Carter, 1979 (lost re-election in 1980 to Ronald Reagan by a substantial margin): 32 percent
? Republican Ronald Reagan, 1983 (won re-election in 1984 over Walter Mondale in landslide): 49 percent
? Republican George Bush, 1991 (lost re-election in 1992 to Democrat Bill Clinton): 59 percent
? Clinton, 1995 (won re-election in 1996 over Bob Dole by substantial margin): 49 percent
? George W. Bush, 2003, (running for re-election): 53 percent
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A8. |
