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 today’s 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 today’s update were completed before President Bush’s 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 President’s 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 President’s 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.
So Ohio's senate race is now a "toss up" according to Ras, despite him previously having Strickland up double digits. Sounds like Ras, like all the other pollsters, has to get in line with November's looming reality.
We get five of those six, at least. Maybe all six.
I think you have it right on. The key is whether we can hold Chaffee's seat.
I would love to hold Chaffee's seat ... but I have NO interest at all in holding on to Chaffee.
Unlike you, however, I certainly do not want to hold, or even touch, Chafee's seat. :)
Bump.
My prev. mail was just commenting on your #61, I wasn't sure what you are saying. I agree Ras is 5-10 neg on GOP at least. I think it is the weightings...
Rob
LOL... I _almost_ didn't get your joke...
What is really sad, is that with a few illegalities on the Dems part (Lautenberg) and a few bad missteps on the GOP's part (Racicot) we would be over 60. With the FDR generation dwindling, the Reagan wave (God Bless that man) reaching it's crest, talk radio, and now the internet the U.S is moving steadily to the right.
Exactly what I said a year ago: that the failure not to recruit stronger candidates in W VA and WA and WI would really cost us.
We should fight for 2 Senators from every "Red" State. If we accomplished that, together with "redistricting", the GOP would be in power for a long time.
came within a few points of electing Kerry,
Scary indeed.
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.