Bush's poll numbers

Me

[ReaganRevolution]

President Bush has had some really bad news lately and the media have been in a full feeding frenzy over the prison abuses. Polls are now indicating that the president's approval is falling into the 40's. Some are starting to associate him with Carter and Ford. My question for everyone is, is the president in a freefall? What can he do to turn this around, can he turn this around?

[ReaganRevolution]

I know several people have said not to pay attention to polls, but I'm getting nervous.

[The G Man]

No. He's still winning (or tied).

I interpret as bad news for Kerry. Bush has had a TERRIBLE 6 weeks or so, and Kerry was unable to capitalize on it.

[AngieGOP]

I'm not worried. Bush will win. Kerry hasn't got the stomach or the brains to see things through. I don't believe that the American people will vote for a wimp like Kerry. Bush will win.

[epluribus_2]

I am a long time supporter. Broken glass pub. I think he is in a free fall. The campaign is in full swing and he is being shot from every direction - any possible thing he or his government does is bad in every report, news, or whisper. Good news on the economy is always peed on in some way before reported (if at all) and good news in foreign policy, iraq, afghanistan, homeland security, or anything is filtered, redacted, and spun according to whatever the NYT and GMA feel is fit for the voters. It is bad. But half, or maybe a little more than half of americans think the president is a good man and usually does the right things. They have not felt that way about democRATS in a long time. Keep up hope.

[ReaganRevolution]

Do you buy the premise that people may vote for Kerry, not because they are so gun-ho about him, but they have lost confidence in the president?

[KJacob]

People talk about the approval numbers for the president but how about the approval numbers for Kerry? Aren't they in the upper 30's? I do not know if it matters; I was just curious.

[demlosers]

My question for everyone is, is the president in a freefall?

No, the president's numbers are not in a freefall.

Look here: Dales's Electoral College Breakdown 2004, May 12th Update

[NCPAC]

As am I. I've been in politics since 1980, helped formulate the questions for - and commissioned - polls in mumerous congressional and a few gubernatorial races. The President's numbers are not good, nor do they at present show much promise of an upside down the road. Our saving grace is that Kerry is a spineless cold fish.

[marlon]

No

[eyespysomething]

He's not in a freefall.

Ask again in 4 months when polls might mean crap. Right now they are a waste of bandwidth, phone usage and the miniscule brain power it takes to total them up.

[Stentor]

I buy the premise that your wasting our time with this chicken .... vanity.

[Rodm]

Iraqi is bottoming out and the sitution will improve over the coming months.

The ecomony is on the upswing.

Bush's poll number will rise. Kerry's totally dull

[RetiredArmy]

Flip Kerry's statement that he will choose McCain as his SecDef if elected is a ploy to divide the republican base in that he is aiming for the McCain for President 2000 crowd. He believes that if he can get those votes on his side, that McCain would be in his administration if elected, he could break Bush in some of the tight swing states where McCain might have a following. He does not care one bit about anything but winning at any cost. American lives lost in combat mean nothing to Flip Kerry. He cost those lives once before with his statements on Vietnam, so what are the loss of a few hundred or thousand troops to a scum sucking pig like this asshole?

[delapaz]

Relax, the approval rating is falling because many conservatives who will NEVER vote for Kerry are nonetheless very unhappy with Bush's handling of Iraq. Count me in this camp.

it probably breaks down like this. 44% approve of bush, 40% disapprove of bush because he is being too tough, warlike, mean, whatever. But the other 16% think he's not being tough enough and we are not killing enough terrorists.

same thing happened in gulf war I. Bush senior's numbers kept on dropping all the way through the buildup because he kept looking squishy as he was negotiating with Saddam, until we actually dropped the hammer.

So, Publicly execute 10 terrorists as response to Nick Berg and Bush's approval goes back up over 50%. Not that I'm recommending this as a course of action, I'm just saying how that would impact his polls. Although the executions wouldn't bother me in the least.

[Judith Anne]

I don't buy that premise. I think it's clear that President Bush will win in November. I'm not taking any chances, I'm encouraging everyone to GO OUT AND VOTE! but if Kerry can't do any better than this after these past five months, if he's not leading in every single state after the press' unremitting efforts to behead our government, then I don't think Kerry has a snowball's chance in hell.

I just heard Rumsfeld being cheered by our forces in Iraq, and it was wonderful. Heartfelt and grand. ;-D

[ReaganRevolution]

I'm not wasting time, I wanted people's opinion. You shouldn't have posted if it was such a waste of your valuable time

[cripplecreek]

Newspapers are printing pictures of faked POW rapes knowing they are fake. At this point Bush could win all 50 states and the alphabet networks will still declare JFnK the winner.

[man from mars]

He can run an ad of what it would be like here if Kerry wins. There will be a Terrorist attach on many US cities with WMD. Just like Johnson did to Goldwater in 64.

[epluribus_2]

O.K. the fundamentals are still even but - you can't argue that his public perception is not eroding.

People do not believe that the U.S. is succeeding in Iraq.

That has to change.

Maybe some of the fighting has bottomed out and some boil lancing is occurring but we need a MAJOR win there to turn it around. The UN plan to create a technocrat government is a total waste of time - almost trying to duplicate vietnam-era puppetry. I think we need to be thinking big time bargaining with tribal leaders and even powerful shiites to give most of this godforsaken (full meaning of word) country (term defined loosely) back to the responsibility of ordinary iraqis - even if we have guns pointed at them in case they turn on us.


I think Reagan was thoroughly hated, too at this point in his first term and then went on to trounce Mondale.