Bush Approval Falls to 33%, Viewed as "Incompetent," Not Conservative: Pew Research

far to little, far to late.

Does anyone know how he stands against Nixon's ratings?

The only thing this possibly shows is that in the next Presidential election, the American people will look for someone who promises to keep taxes low, reduce spending, and keep our military funded and strong.

Welcome to every election since the 40's.

Poll numbers go up, poll numbers go down, it really doesn't matter at this point. It'll have a neglible effect on the mid-term elections. What voters think which party will do better, what voters think of the President, what they think of Iraq...it's all completely secondary to the most important question: Do you plan on voting for your incumbent representative? And the answer?

Based on registered voters,

It's another poll. Whoop-de-doo.

Translation: I'm a conservative.

Not to gloat or anything, but I know you've seen the mounds of data pointing to a bumpy ride for Republicans in 2006. You're right that no one knows yet, and you're right that anything can happen.

But the voting public hasn't been this united against the status quo since 1994. And we both know it.

A drop in approval ratings means that some people who thought he was doing an okay job a month ago now believe he's incompetent. Other people, of course, have said he's incompetent all along. What I want to know is, will his recent supporters give a little more credit to his long-time detractors the next time a divisive issue comes up? Will they consider the possibility that the people who ended up being right about Bush might be right about other things too?

Probably not. It's not in the nature of a partisan on either side to make that kind of connection. But we'll see.

I do have to wonder what the recent opinion-switchers have seen recently to make them change their minds. I haven't seen anything unusual in Bush's recent behavior -- the man is many things, but inconsistent isn't one of them. What's he doing now that's any different than what he's been doing for the last six years? I sure don't see it.

It's another poll. Whoop-de-doo.

Translation: I'm a conservative.

Not to gloat or anything, but I know you've seen the mounds of data pointing to a bumpy ride for Republicans in 2006. You're right that no one knows yet, and you're right that anything can happen.

But the voting public hasn't been this united against the status quo since 1994. And we both know it.

No, we both don't know it both "know it", because I don't agree with you and you don't agree with me. In 2002 and 2004, almost the exact same poll gave the exact same numbers of chance of reelecting the incumbent, and we know how that worked out (+ 2 Senate for Republicans, +8 House for Republicans, net gains over Democrats in 2002, even better in 2004). The loyalty of the voting public to their individual representative is much more important than the overall Congressional approval rating and Presidential approval.

What the the public thinks of Republicans, what they think of Bush...it holds much less water than what registered voters think of their actual representative.

So, still want to dismiss me as a conservative? Because it doesn't reflect well on you to dismiss me as a conservative right off the bat. Insulting, as well.

At no point, Trajan, does that statement make any sense.

I understand the whole "Haha, it's funny, look what Google does when you type in failure", but what does that have to do with anything? Ich bin lost.

Does anybody know the breakdown of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents in the US? These surveys usually quote a mixing of like 35%Dem, 28%Rep, 37%Ind (I don't have the exact numbers handy so don't quote me on this). I always thought the Rep and Dem populations were fairly close and like 10% Ind.

Poll numbers go up, poll numbers go down,

Or in Clinton's Case they go up... to 73 percent after the House called for Impeachment.

(AllPolitics, December 20) -- In the wake of the House of Representatives' approval of two articles of impeachment, Bill Clinton's approval rating has jumped 10 points to 73 percent, the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows.

His lowest numbers were 20 points above Bush's.

Yes, polls go up and down but lets remember who maintained a 58% or higher while a Republican house Impeached him.

The debate in this thread has been mostly focused on the upcoming elections, I would like to write about another angle.

I am completely supportive of politicians staying their course and not flipping with the fickle public on every issue. However, it seems that these poll numbers have been so consistently low for so long that there are some policies of the administration that at this point are going against the will of the people. My impression of this administration is that is is not as pro-democracy as it claims.

This can also be seen from the way the Bush administration treats the poll numbers of other countries in regards to the New Europe/Old Europe distinctions. When a country, despite overwhelming opposition by its people, decided to go along with United States foreign policy, that country was designated New Europe, they were enlightened good guys. When a country followed the will of the people on this issue and decided not to support us, they were characterized as Old Europe, stone-aged, backward tyrants. The administration's opinion of Turkey is an example of this.

All of this lead to, for me, the impression that George Bush and his administration, although they are claiming to be working for the spread of democracy, are actually acting in such a way that they are against it.

Has anyone bothered to give any thought to where this self-masturbation leads us? Why is it so difficult to understand that there is a nation to run and we have a president who has almost three years left to run it? What weird logic tells us that continuous defamation of an individual improves his ability to perform the essential duties entrusted to him? Does anyone seriously think that calling someone "incompetent" or "stupid" will alter their behavior to match your own? I certainly hope we aren't that stupid and I cannot imagine the president altering his behavior to match that of his critics. However, in his case, he would be justified in saying "I pay no attention to the absurd crowd around the guillotine because they are stupid and incompetent." The truth is that he would be totally justified in doing so, because virtually none of his most severe critics have the slightest proof for their accusations and to make them, under those circumstances, clearly marks them as stupid and incompetent.

Get a grip, people. Pretend that you have some responsibility, no matter how small, for constructive efforts to improve the nation as well as the image of the nation at home and abroad. Those of you who are not US citizens and who are bent on the destruction of the United States are excused. Please identify yourselves.

I have lost faith in Bush at the same time he started pumping for war with Iraq. I felt that he needed to finish the job in Afghanistan and get OBL before moving on. Since then my opinion has gotten steadily worse. The polls are nice in the fact that they say that more people are agreeing with me.

The one thing they specifically don't say is what is to be done. It is very easy to say it is bad. My father gave me some good advice when I entered the work force. Don't bring your boss problems - bring him/her solutions. Right now the democrats have only presented themselves as whiners and a not-Bush alternative. If they want to capitalize on this poll, they need to bring solutions. Here is a few tips:

Real Security - It is not hard to find analysis stating that the Administration has created a fertile recruiting ground in Iraq for terrorists. While we have been busy in Iraq, Iran is building the bomb and there is little we can do about it. Where is OBL? We need to internationalize the effort in Iraq. Contain Iran. We also need to stop stepping around the non-proliferation treaty in the name of political expediency.

Real Fiscal Responsibility - The Republican Congress just raised the debt ceiling again. Hang them for it.

Health-care - Our current health-care system is broken. It is the most expensive on the planet and gets mediocre results at best. It is also hurting our competitiveness in the world marketplace. I am not suggesting socialization, but a single payer system is worth looking at.

Competence, Corruption, Cronyism - Offer real reforms on capital hill.

Energy Policy for the next century - Peak oil is on its way. Deal with the issue head on. I am talking a Moon Shot style funding effort to produce real solutions in the next 10 years.

Anyway - I think you guys see where I am going. Sorry for the long post.

So rockman, if I am following you correctly you would have us stand behind the President and cheer him on regardless of what he is doing just because he is the President?
That is a scary thought. We have the duty to challenge our administrations to reflect what we see as right. To totally ignore the will of the people turns one into a dictator. And before you go all crazy on me I'm not calling Bush a dictator, I'm just saying that in a Republic like ours, the elected officials are supposed to reflect the will of the people. If Bush just says, "screw them, I'm doing my own thing", well I believe that to be wrong and against the principles that this country was founded on.

What's amazing to me is that it took the left and the main stream media 6 years to finally make some inroads into changing the perception of President Bush's character. The endless repetition of Bush bashing since his inauguration in 2001 shows that the media is not as powerful as it once was. If it had been, then President Bush would not have been re-elected in 2004.

Bill Bard writes:

Does anybody know the breakdown of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents in the US? These surveys usually quote a mixing of like 35%Dem, 28%Rep, 37%Ind (I don't have the exact numbers handy so don't quote me on this). I always thought the Rep and Dem populations were fairly close and like 10% Ind.

My AP Gov. states that the nation was 33.7% Dem 36% Ind and 30.3% Rep. as of 2002. In 2002 the % for republicans hasn't been that high since 1956, while the high for Dem was 52.2% in 1964. The lowest point for Democrats was in 2002, and the lowest for Republicans was 23% in 1976&1980. This is only relative recent data--from 1952-2002.

co writes:
So rockman, if I am following you correctly you would have us stand behind the President and cheer him on regardless of what he is doing just because he is the President?

I don't see anywhere that I said that. It's symptomatic of the problem I described that you would even make such a statement.

I asked for an intelligent approach to criticism. Fabricating false or misleading objections is not a constructive approach. I seriously doubt that any of the critics in this thread calling Bush "incompetent" or "stupid" have any idea what the US strategy is in Iraq, much less any constructive recommendations for change.

Some people take longer than others to recognize the obvious.

All presidents suffer a downturn in their approval rating during this period in their presidency. Clinton's approval rating dipped in the second term as did Reagan's. The nation wants a new face.

rockman

What weird logic tells us that continuous defamation of an individual improves his ability to perform the essential duties entrusted to him? Does anyone seriously think that calling someone "incompetent" or "stupid" will alter their behavior to match your own?

You are right, calling someone stupid might not change their behavior, but that doesn't mean you still can't voice your opinion about it. I honestly believe that Bush has done a TERRIBLE job with his foreign policy. What do you suggest people do that are fed up with what Bush is doing. What should we do since we can't actually get him out of office( impeachment isn't going to happen ). All we are left with is to voice our displeasure with what he is doing.

I seriously doubt that any of the critics in this thread calling Bush "incompetent" or "stupid" have any idea what the US strategy is in Iraq, much less any constructive recommendations for change.

For the sake of argument lets say this is true, that no one here knows the strategy in Iraq. Don't you find that to be a problem. He has invaded a country, occupied it and no one knows what the strategy is. There has been no clear exit stategy. They have had their elections and still nothing has changed. I agree that we are in too deep to just pack up and leave, but keep the people of this country informed about where the 250 BILLION dollars is going and what it is doing.

2,000+ dead, 16,000+ wounded, 250 billion dollars, no exit stategy, and no one here has a clue. I find that to be a HUGE problem and one that makes me call Bush stupid and incompetent.

Ansab writes:

Does anyone know how he stands against Nixon's ratings?

This site has Nixon at 24% at the end of his term so Bush still has about a 10 point lead on Nixon.

Pretend that you have some responsibility, no matter how small, for constructive efforts to improve the nation as well as the image of the nation at home and abroad.

Since when did "Go it alone" George ever listen to or pay any attention to us? And does making a president testify under oath about his private life qualify as 'constructive?'

dfico mentioned impeaching Bush is not an option. I could not agree more. After all - realize that Cheney is next in line. How is that better?

Wow, people wake up and realise that they are irrelevant because they have been sedated by gas fumes and cheeseburgers; and now, they're looking for someone to blame, other than themselves, of course, I'm glad he's there for them...........I guess Bush does do SOMETHING good in this world.