Posted on 11/04/2005 2:52:08 PM PST by Behind Liberal Lines
To listen to the way it is spun in the Washington Post and crowd on the left, you'd think that President Bush's "all time low" job approval rating was the end of the world:
On virtually every key measure of presidential character and performance, the new survey found that Bush has never been less popular with the American people. Currently 39 percent approve of the job he is doing as president, while 60 percent disapprove of his performance in office -- the highest level of disapproval ever recorded for Bush in Post-ABC polls.
But if you look closely, these numbers are just for Bush in his own two terms, not for Presidents in general. How does he compare overall?
According to a 10/17 USA Today article, he compares pretty well:
Every president since 1963 has had approval ratings at one time or another that were lower than Bush's current rating. Those ratings include Lyndon Johnson's 35%, Richard Nixon's 24%, Gerald Ford's 37%, Jimmy Carter's 28%, Ronald Reagan's 35%, the elder George Bush's 29% and Bill Clinton's 37%.
Bush's worst to date is still several points better that the next best in President Clinton, and substantially better than all other presidents of the past four decades. Perhaps naysayers shouldn't crow so loudly when Bush is still at the top of the heap.
Update: As Tom Elia of the New Editor shows, Bush's "lowest" polling is the result of skewed polling across several polls.
For example, the CBS News poll, which shows that Bush's approval rating is at 35%, reports that an unweighted sample shows that 34.8% of its respondents self-identified as Democrats, while 27.6% said they were Republicans. While the unweighted sample yielded a seven-point differential favoring the Dems, a weighted sample had the spread at 11% points in favor of the Dems. This represents at least a 10-11 point swing in the electorate since the 2004 election (and perhaps as much as 14 points), when Bush won by about three points and the Repubs won the aggregate House vote by about four points.
The AP/Ipsos poll, which has Bush's approval rating at 37%, said its respondents self-identified 49% Dem and 40% Repub, yielding a nine-point differential favoring the Dems. This represents a 12-point swing in the electorate since 2004...
The ABC/Washington Post poll, which shows that Bush's approval rating is at 39%, saw its respondents break down thusly: 52% said they leaned toward the Dems, and 41% leaned toward the Repubs. That represents a 14-point swing since last year's elections.
Go read the rest.
Lies. Damn lies. Statistics.
LOL. Thanks for this, just had a lib throw the new poll at me this am.
Ronald Reagan at 35% Approval.
What BS.
Lies, Lies, Lies!
These polls are rigged, over-representing Democratic respondents. See below from a post done earlier today by another Freeper:
First, the 3 doom and gloom polls.
From The Washington Post: Approve-38% Disapprove-60%
From AP/Ipsos: Approve-37% Disapprove-58%
From CBS News: Approve-35% Disapprove-57%
We're going to forego the usual factors of weekend polling, age and income level of respondents, etc., and just go to party ID of respondents, after telling you that the polls are of "adults", not even "registered voters" or even "likely voters".
Let's just remind you that in 2004 the exit polls showed the party ID of voters at 37% Republicans and Democrats
So, let's get to the numbers shall we.
Party ID of The Washington Post poll respondents: Independent-38% Democrat-31% Republican-27% (Lean- Democrat 52% Republican-41% Independent-6%)
Party ID of AP/Ipsos poll respondents: Democrat-49% Republican-40% Independent 9%
Party ID of CBS News poll respondents (weighted): Independent-41% Democrat-35% Republican-24%
Ok folks, does anything more really need to be said?
UPDATE: Tom Elia of The New Editor shows this kind of imbalance in polls has been going on since July.
He's still got three years to decline. He better step up to the plate or the congress is going to revert back to the Dems.
I wish the lowest number concerning President Bush was our national debt. When you count the unfunded debt for social security and medicare the total is $144,000,000,000,000. That isn't counting the monies recently promised for natural disasters and foreign aid. President Bush's spending has outpaced a string of former presidents. So much for fiscal conservatism.
He's still got three years to decline. He better step up to the plate or the congress is going to revert back to the Dems.
And what pray tell do the Jackasses have as a great plan?
You can't run against something with nothing!
Rice for VP. Get some much needed new blood in there....
my 2 cents on a friday afternoon.
It is November, but 2005. November 2006 is when it counts. Relax....
Sure you can. If enough people dislike the something, then all you have to do is promise not to keep doing the something - without really describing the alternative. It's politics, not leadership, but it still wins elections...
Sure you can. If enough people dislike the something, then all you have to do is promise not to keep doing the something - without really describing the alternative. It's politics, not leadership, but it still wins elections... You betcha. Just look how close sKerry came [shudder].
Accentuate the positive.
Great Article!
That is all that is saving us. If the Dems ever get away from abortion, gays, anti-religion and anti-war and take a more populist approach taking on the borders, health care, and other domestic issues, we might have something to fear.
There's no doubt that Bush's popularity has hit its lowest point ever. The liberals and their press allies are gloating that this is the beginning of the end. But chances are, it's something else. Bush has been going through a very bad patch. But this may reflect a bottoming out of for Bush rather than a taste of things to come. With gasoline prices falling, memories of the Katrina fiasco beginning to fade, and modest but steady signs of improvement in Iraq, look for Bush to gradually rebound in the next couple of months. And the Alito nomination will keep the conservative base on board.
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