Posted on 09/12/2006 8:22:13 AM PDT by slowhand520
President Bush Job Approval September 12, 2006
Forty-four percent (44%) of American adults approve of the way that President Bush is performing his job. Fifty-four percent (54%) disapprove. Those are the best numbers for the President in months and it remains to be seen whether todays update reflects lasting change or merely statistical noise.
The Rasmussen Reports daily updates are based upon nightly telephone interviews and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. The overwhelming majority of interviews for todays update were completed before President Bushs address to the nation last night.
Americans remain evenly divided as to whether the war in Iraq is part of the larger War on Terror or a distraction from it. There is also a fairly even divide between those who think our legal system is too concerned about individual liberties at the expense of national security and those who share the opposite perspective. Forty-one percent (41%) of Americans believe that the U.S. and its allies are winning the War on Terror. Most Americans think our nation was changed for the worse since 9/11 and most support the Presidents call to try terrorist suspects through military tribunals.
The economic confidence of American consumers jumped to its highest level in five months today and investor confidence is at its highest level in six months.
On the political front, Washington Senator Maria Cantwell (D) has soared to a 17-point lead over challenger Mike McGavick (R ). As a result, we have shifted that race from Leans Democrat to Democrat in our Senate Balance of Power summary (see State-by-State Summary). We now list 49 seats as Republican or Leans Republican and 45 seats as Democrat or Leans Democrat. Six states are listed as Toss-Ups. The Toss-Up states are Tennessee, New Jersey, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, and Rhode Island. To see our latest results, check out the Election 2006 summary page.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) holds an 8-point lead in his bid for re-election. In Arkansas, Democrat Mike Beebe has once again opened a double digit lead. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford (R )has reached the 50% level of voter support in his bid for re-election. Premium Members can see our latest data from Illinois, Alabama, Georgia and Texas.
If you'd like to receive regular updates of Rasmussen Reports polling data, sign up for our FREE weekly newsletter in the left column on this page (immediately below the summary of Job Approval ratings).
In August, the number of Americans calling themselves Republican has fallen to the lowest level since Rasmussen Reports began releasing this data in January 2004.
At Rasmussen Reports, we adjust our party identification weighting targets each month based upon actual survey results from the previous 90 days. For the month of September, our partisan weighting targets are 37.0% Democrat, 32.7% Republican, and 30.2% unaffiliated. This represents a slight increase in the number of Democrats and unaffiliateds. The impact on the Presidents Job Approval rating is less than a percentage point compared to data from the prior three months. See our monthly update on Partisan Trends.
See also our comments on comparing Job Approval numbers from different polling firms.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.
The Rasmussen Reports ElectionEdge Premium Service for Election 2006 offers the most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a mid-term election. We update the President's Job Approval Ratings daily and are polling every Senate and Governor's race at least once a month in 2006.
Rasmussen Reports was the nation's most accurate polling firm during the Presidential election and the only one to project both Bush and Kerry's vote total within half a percentage point of the actual outcome.
During Election 2004, RasmussenReports.com was also the top-ranked public opinion research site on the web. We had twice as many visitors as our nearest competitor and nearly as many as all competitors combined.
Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.
The Ds claim it was a political speech. But, it was a status report on the WOT to the American people, just what was demanded, and was justifiable as such, and the Pres said it was that knowing that the Ds would claim it was political. As far as being a political speech on the media's dime, Pres Clinton did that every day for eight years.
49 seats as Republican or Leans Republican and 45 seats as Democrat or Leans Democrat. Six states are listed as Toss-Ups. The Toss-Up states are Tennessee, New Jersey, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, and Rhode Island.
We need 1 out of 6. Missouri looks like the easiest. It would be a lot better if we got 2 out of 6. An untimely death in a state with a democrat governor would flip it.
The reason for the low poll numbers is his refusal to clamp down on who is entering the country. How can you be taken seriously on national security when you let every Tomas, Dick and Mohammed in this country?
To the Dems everything Bush does is political. If he runs to the bathroom its for politcal purposes! LOL
Yeah, it was a political speech. But it was more than that.
The Democrats responded to the speech with political remarks.
But whenever the president speaks, it's political. Doesn't matter who it is.
It's really one of the very funny things about Washington, DC: Every time someone on one side of the aisle or the other doesn't like what the opposition says or claims, it is decried as "playing politics." God, I never get tired of that remark. It is so silly.
I especially enjoy critical remarks from Senator Kennedy. My word, there's a fine example of what is correct or incorrect. Putz.
I think the GOP will maintain control of the Congress.
Viva Bush!
Thinking back I can not remember a time since JFK when a D gave a speech that was not pure politics. The most distasteful of all was that Clinton appointee Reich. He is still ranting even now.
The true spirit of bipartisanship--the loser wants to share power.
The price of Gasolline is going to continue to fall. It will initially fall to about 25 or 30 dollars a barrel...That means the retail price of gasoline will be about $1.25 a gallon. It could for a very short time fall to double digits. Then it will rise to about a $1.44 a gallon. That will restore all sorts of consumer confidence just in time for the fall election.
I had thought that the Democrats might gain some seats but not enough to gain control. It could be that the Democrats will lose seats and that could cause a world of grief for the Democrats. Remember that when things are down it is all Bush's fault means that when things are good it is all to Bush's credit.
Rassmussen is still predicting a low Republican turn out. That is evident in the number of Democrats to Republicans polled. But it will not be a low Republican turn out. It will be one of the huge ones. These polls of approval ratings and everything else do not reflect the actual people that are going to vote.
Consider that the Oil Companies are selling their gasoline at below cost. WHY? Because they know the longer they hold a gallon the lower the cost is going to go. The bottom is dropping out of the price of gasoline.
And the the Democrats prospects are falling with it.
You want to play defense.. And no one ever won a contest of any kind from war to football on defense.
You win games on offense.
Do you know why we have not been attacked since 911?
You piss President bush off and he defeats your nation. Like Saddam and Osama you end up in a hole or as a murder defendant.
They could get lots of suicide bombers to do it... but the bastards at the top don't want to die. They know that if they do it again, Bush just might nuke em.
But bring the troops home and then the Mullahs will feel safe. They will send in all the suicide bombers they can send .. and all the 100 foot high fences in the world won't protect you.
The Republicans, however, are doing the long-term work that is needed to be done to produce results that can be exploited on Election Day.
Donks peak in May, and Pubbies peak on Election Day. We are The Stupid Party no more...
I explain to my Lib friends that it is ironic that their view of Bush is exactly the bigoted way that Republicans of the last century supposedly viewed immagrants: Those (unnamed country) foreigners...they are so stupid! They are shifty and lazy! Those (unnamed country) foreigners...they can't be trusted! They are over here trying to outperform us and take our jobs!
Of course, then I am informed that Bush is stupid...Carl Rove is the one who has complete control of oil prices!
Which spells big trouble for his re-election campaign... Oh, wait a minute!?!
The fact is, President Bush needs to do well enough so he is not a drag on the Republicans running in local races around the country. The Democrat Party has made the election a referendum on Bush, but have nothing to talk about on any other issue. If Bush is cruising along at 45-48% approval, disapproval of the President will not be enough of an issue for the Democrats to prevail in the Congressional races.
The Donks have put all their eggs in one basket, and the bottom has just fallen out. I stand by my tag-line, with an emphasis on the at least!
Bush isn't running for reelection. The Senate numbers are not very encouraging. Interesting that, "For the month of September, our partisan weighting targets are 37.0% Democrat, 32.7% Republican, and 30.2% unaffiliated. This represents a slight increase in the number of Democrats and unaffiliateds." I wonder on what basis he weights the samples.
The Dems get what they deserve! They look like a bunch of cry babies. All the better for us!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.