Bush got disapproval marks the old fashioned way: He earned them!
Bush's legacy (besides giving us Obama here in 08) will be he managed to keep us safe for over 8 years. Several years from now (8+ years) when he is looked back on in history, IMO he will probably have an approval rating around 60% and opinion will be a little more favorable to him.
As for his approval rating right now, its pretty obvious how he got it, just like "meandog" said, he earned it. Allowing the media and the liberals to attack him and his policies non-stop without ever defending himself has contributed to his low rating. He almost deserves such a low ratting, As I said before:
UNTIL OUR SIDE GETS LOUD, VOCAL, AND FIGHT (fight means campaign/debate/persuade like a liberal politician aka being loud and none of this taking the high ground (aka McCain) - we are going to be the minority.
Bush has effectively destroyed the Republican Party and with the bailout has socialized the economy and with his supplemental spending bills he has crushed us with debt. He deserves the low approval rating along with the idiots in Congress.
If Obama bans guns and enforces some type of Fairness Doctrine we are truly up the creek.
As his Master would have wanted.
I disagree with much of what President Bush has done; more specifically what he has not done, but he has the demeanor of a true Christian!