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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rascal who wrote (11955)	10/13/2003 10:05:54 AM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793896

Your predictions about Bush's demise seem a little premature, Rascal. The latest Gallup Poll shows his approval rating has gone from 50% to 55%. Higher than I would have expected with all the gloom and doom you post. He is not low enough anywhere for it to be considered "Trouble" yet. _________________________________ POLL ANALYSES October 13, 2003 Mixed Results in Latest Bush Ratings Slight recovery shown in job approval rating by Jeffrey M. Jones GALLUP NEWS SERVICE PRINCETON, NJ -- The most recent Gallup Poll shows a mixed set of results on ratings of George W. Bush. The president's job approval rating is up slightly from his previous rating, which was the low point of his presidency. While Bush's overall job rating remains in positive territory, his ratings on the economy, foreign affairs, and Iraq show decline, and now as many Americans disapprove as approve of his handling of these issues. In fact, Bush's ratings on all three issues are as negative as they have been at any time in his presidency. The public continues to hold a favorable impression of the president, although Bush's 60% favorable rating is his lowest since he took office. The poll was conducted Oct. 6-8 and shows Bush's job approval rating at 55%, with 42% disapproving. This represents a modest improvement from the previous Gallup Poll of Sept. 19-21, when 50% approved and 47% disapproved -- the most negative approval ratings in Bush's presidency to date. It is not immediately clear why Bush's latest approval rating increased over the previous measure, but one cause could be a shift in media attention away from Iraq and to the California recall election. In fact, the California election was the dominant news story during the poll's field period, which encompassed the day before, the day of, and the day after the election. The improvement in Bush's ratings comes mainly from Democrats, who remain highly critical of the president, but show a 12-point improvement in ratings from mid-September (16%) to now (28%). Republicans' and independents' ratings of Bush have held steady during that time. Bush Issue Ratings Bush's ratings on three specific issues -- the economy, foreign affairs, and Iraq -- are less positive than his overall job rating, with at least as many Americans disapproving as approving of Bush on all three. At the same time that Bush's overall job rating increased three percentage points from early September (from 52% to 55%), his ratings on these three issues all declined slightly. As a result, his ratings on the economy and foreign affairs are the most negative of his presidency. His rating on Iraq, already at a term low in September, is now lower still. Forty-two percent of Americans approve of Bush's handling of the economy, compared with steady ratings in the mid-40s from July through September. Currently, 55% of Americans disapprove of Bush's handling of the economy. Bush's current economic ratings are the worst of his presidency. Throughout his term in office, the public has tended to rate Bush more positively for his handling of foreign affairs than for his handling of the economy. That continues to be the case, as 49% approve of and 49% disapprove of Bush on international matters. The 49% disapproval rating is the highest of Bush's term, and only in the very early stages of his presidency did Bush ever get a lower approval rating on foreign affairs than the current reading -- but this was primarily due to a large percentage of Americans expressing no opinion. Bush's approval rating on foreign affairs had been in the mid-50s this summer before dropping to 52% in a Sept. 8-10 poll, and falling again in the latest poll. Ratings of Bush's handling of Iraq have also hit a new low. Just 47% approve while 50% disapprove, the first time this approval rating has dipped below 50% in the year in which Gallup has tracked his handling of Iraq. Bush Favorable Ratings Consistent with what has been the case throughout his presidency, the public still has a generally positive impression of Bush. Sixty percent view him favorably, while 39% hold an unfavorable view. While still firmly in positive territory, this is the lowest rating Bush has received since he took office, tied with a 60% favorable rating in August 2001. Prior to becoming president, Bush's favorable ratings had been as low as 51% (this reading was among registered voters) in September 2000. Survey Methods These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,017 adults, 18 years and older, conducted Oct. 6-8, 2003. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls. gallup.com