Posted on 09/27/2008 9:37:34 PM PDT by Tennessee Nana
WASHINGTON — In the waning months of his eight-year administration, President Bush is receiving low marks from Tennesseans, with just 37 percent saying he has done an “excellent” or “good” job, according to a statewide poll.
Forty-three percent of poll respondents said President Bush has done a “poor” job, and 19 percent gave him a “fair” rating.
Those numbers reflect President Bush’s low popularity nationwide, particularly as the financial crisis in the credit markets hit fever pitch this past week, said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., which conducted the poll.
“That probably pulled down his numbers some,” Mr. Coker said. “The numbers might vary 10 to 15 points, depending on whether you’re polling a Blue State or a Red State, but it’s pretty consistent. Those (approval) numbers were a lot higher in his first term.”
A similar Times Free Press poll in November 2006 found 47 percent of Tennesseans rating President Bush “excellent” or “good,” while an October 2004 poll had 58 percent in those two categories.
The poll of 625 registered and likely Tennessee voters, conducted Sept. 22-24, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
But even with President Bush’s declining approval ratings, Tennesseans favor Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., over Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.
“Despite the Democrats’ natural efforts to link McCain to Bush, he’s not really a part of this administration,” said Ed Cromer, editor of the nonpartisan Tennessee Journal, a statewide political newsletter.
“I think McCain’s status as a war hero helps him in a lot of the state, and there are a lot of veterans in Tennessee,” Mr. Cromer said. “In a lot of the states, especially in rural areas, voters have a problem connecting with Obama.”
Just 3 percent of Democrats said they were satisfied with President Bush’s job performance, according to the poll, compared to 78 percent of Republicans. Among independents, President Bush registered a 35 percent approval rating, the poll shows.
South Pittsburg, Tenn., resident and poll respondent Doris Dorim, 70, who identified herself as a Democrat, called President Bush “the dumbest president we’ve ever had.”
“I think he’s done some bad things for our country,” she said. “For one thing, all this financial mess that we’re in. No oversight. And the Iraq War, I think that was a terrible mistake. We shouldn’t be there. As I remember, he went into this election saying we couldn’t dictate to the world, and yet here we are, trying to tell them how to live.”
But Johnson City, Tenn., resident Steve Lusk, 59, a self-identified Republican who is retired from the military, gave President Bush an “excellent” rating, saying the news media has distorted his record.
“I think he’s done outstanding,” Mr. Lusk said. “He has done everything he said he would, contrary to what the media says. He said he would solve the problem in Iraq, and he did. He said he would stabilize the economy, and he did. It’s the news media flipping around what he’s done to make him look bad.”
Who cares?
Tennessee PING
>...Doris Dorim, 70, who identified herself as a Democrat, called President Bush “the dumbest president we’ve ever had.”<
the liberal-socialists always say that republicans are stupid,
and, the corollary, democrats are very intelligent!
Eh ????????????????
Uh, 37% give him good to excellent and 19% give him fair. That’s 56% fair to excellent. 43% poor. Dem led congress has an approval rate of what 11%?
Exactly. Who cares?? Let the man walk away. There must be something up their behinds that make nimrod libs throw a hissy fit when one mentions Bush, Cheney and Bush Doctrine.
That’s the final straw, I’m not voting for Bush again.
Who gives a flip.
I wonder what the Bush haters will do to act out their mental disease issues after he’s gone.
BDS will morph seamlessly into PDS ... it already has.
Did Herman mention the 9% approval of the rat congress? No? Didn’t think so.
Hey, Herman, how’s your ad revenue at the rag? How about readership? Crashing a bit?
Herman, I see burger flipping in your future. Maybe you can hang out on street corner with a sign: “Will lie for food!”
I am getting SO SICK of listening to democrats tell me how “stupid,” and “dumb” President Bush is.
A dear longtime friend (and democrat) of mine in D.C. and I had a phone conversation recently, the first in many months.
She jumped in and spent the entire conversation telling me how “stupid” Bush is. I bit my tongue, didn’t argue with her, because it wouldn’t do any good. However, I will not be calling her again. She went on and on.
Then, yesterday, an older relative (who I help quite often) called me started in on me, because she knows I’m a republican. Again, she said Bush was “dumb,” “stupid,” etc. She kept baiting me, wanting me to argue with her. Of course, she is brilliant, has been in the U.S. (is from Britain) for 60 years and still is not an American citizen, although she enjoys all the priviledges (Social Security, etc.). And of course she doesn’t even have a high school diploma. But Bush is stupid. McCain is evil and Sarah Palin is disgusting.
I did tell her (couldn’t hold my tongue any longer) Thank God people like her can talk, but not vote (LOL).
Everywhere I go there are idiots (in the grocery store, ect.) who want to get in my face and tell me this, and argue with me, people who are mad because Bush won the election. They just can’t stand it because we elect people in this country they don’t like.
I’ve never seen so many uncivil people. I don’t go to the store or call up my Democratic friends and get in their face about who they support.
What happened to the days when people could agree to disagree, and be civil about it?
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