# Bush approval rating continues to fall **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 15, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838 "2003-01-15T22:22:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/1 "2003-01-15T22:22:02Z")
[Bush Approval Drops Below 60% for First Time Since 9/11](http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr030114.asp) > [@](#): > > For the first time since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, George W. Bush’s approval rating has dropped below the 60% level, now showing 58% of Americans who approve and 37% who disapprove of the way he is handling his job as president. In a Gallup Poll conducted just days before the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush’s approval rating reached the lowest of his presidency, with 51% approving and 39% disapproving. After the terrorist attacks, his approval skyrocketed, reaching a record 90% in mid-September 2001. It has gradually declined since then, dropping below 80% for the first time in early March 2002, and dropping below 70% for the first time the following July. By December of last year, it was below the 65% level. 58% is still rather good for a president, but you don’t have to be an ace statistician to see Bush has been losing ground for 11 straight months. It appears Americans have been losing faith that the President has corporate fraud, the economy, OBL, Saddam, and N. Korea all well in hand. I expect Bush to stay the course and continue with his supply-side economic strategy and hard-nosed, unilateral foreign policy. I’ll give him all due credit if manages to pull them off, but I’m not holding my breath. ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/2 "2003-01-15T22:29:37Z")
Uh, **cainxinth** , what would you like to debate? ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/3 "2003-01-15T22:31:27Z")
The last time I posted a story like this, I was told that this isn’t a slide, it’s a stabilization, and Bush does have everything well in hand. I was expecting a similar response this time as well. ---
**Author:** ![WillGolfForFood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/82dd89/32.png) [@WillGolfForFood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillGolfForFood)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/4 "2003-01-15T22:31:56Z")
I’m not particularly a Bush fan, but I don’t really see this as a decline in popularity so much as a return to normalcy after an unusual popularity spike (that whomever happened to be president at the time would have gotten) as a result of 9/11. ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/5 "2003-01-15T22:34:38Z")
see 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@lout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lout)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/6 "2003-01-15T23:07:00Z")
I have been waiting for this for a long time. The attacks on 9/11 were the best possible thing that could have happened to save Bush’s presidency and he knows it. Before 9/11, people were recognizing Bush for what he really is, namely a brainless, profoundly ignorant prep school cowboy who had never suceeded at anything in his entire life that wasn’t literally given to him via his family and/or family friends. Bush has never had any domestic policy whatsoever other than lining the pockets of his biggest campaign contributors and kissing the asses of power brokers like Dick Cheney. Without the fraudulent “war on terrorism,” Bush has literally nothing to hide behind, no way to mask his sheer incompetence, just like his buddy Ariel “Man of Peace” Sharon, who is now going down the tubes, thank G~d. People like Bush/Saddam/Osama and Sharon/Arafat all need each other all need each other as parasites needs hosts, except that in these cases, the hosts are also parasites in a wonderfully reciprocal love/hate arrangement that would be profoundly beautiful if only it were mutually fatal. ---
**Author:** ![MrTuffPaws](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@MrTuffPaws](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrTuffPaws)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/7 "2003-01-15T23:12:51Z")
Why don’t I ever get polled on questions like how I feel about Bush. I just get, “What radio station do you listen to?” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/8 "2003-01-15T23:17:09Z")
5% in one week is not a slide, it is a plummet. There is a very interesting article in this month’s _Atlantic_ magazine centering around the conflict between socially conservative Pubbies and socially progressive Dems. The expressed opinion boils down to this: as long as the Pubbies can keep the voters focused on war and terror, they will continue to maintain thier grip on power, as the voters see them as more competent in matters of death and horror. I very much doubt that this has escaped the notice of Mr. Rove and the dark alchemists of his cabal. Indeed, some skeptical observers suggest that his is precisely why Iraq suddenly went from back burner to urgent crisis overnight. Absent any other sensible explanation, I am inclined to agree. But they have made a dangerous decision, in the sense that whomsoever rides the tiger dare not dismount. And to put GeeDubya in the role of a Leader of Men is akin to casting Elmer Fudd as Churchill. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/9 "2003-01-15T23:36:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lout \* > Before 9/11, people were recognizing Bush for what he really is, namely a brainless, profoundly ignorant prep school cowboy I don’t know who should be more insulted, cowboys or prep schools. Anybody else notice how Dubya got especially threatening with Iraq as soon as the poll came out yesterday? “I am SICK and TIRED of these POLL NUM . . . er, WEAPONS OF MASS TERRORISM.” ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/10 "2003-01-15T23:38:19Z")
Okay, apparently elucidator noticed it. ---
**Author:** ![ElJeffe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ElJeffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElJeffe)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/11 "2003-01-16T00:52:36Z")
Bush has been saying he wants to attack Iraq and forcefully remove Saddam from power for a year now. How was his most recent comment on the subject “especially threatening”? Is he now going to give Saddam an atomic wedgie, too? Jeff ---
**Author:** ![Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d07c76/32.png) [@Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Age_Quod_Agis)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/12 "2003-01-16T02:14:16Z")
And President Clinton spoke out agaist Iraq for the duration of his 8 years in office, even going so far as to make “regime change in Iraq” the official American policy. Was he going for poll-spikes, too? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/13 "2003-01-16T02:23:44Z")
Didn’t need 'em. Peace and prosperity is kinda tough to beat. Ask Bob Dole. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/14 "2003-01-16T02:24:46Z")
If his numbers drop below 50, look for a sudden “bombshell” discovery on the weapons inspection front. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/15 "2003-01-16T02:37:27Z")
Nope. American destroyer, cruising in the international sands of the Godforsaken Desert, is attacked by an Iraqi PT boat armed with nuclear anthrax. You heard it here first. Drudge, eat your heart out. ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/16 "2003-01-16T02:49:53Z")
Here’s a discussion of Bush’s poll results from [Kellyanne Conway](http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/corner.asp) of the Polling Company, as printed in the National Review’s blog, _The Corner_. > [@](#): > > …It is tempting but dangerous to confuse causation with coincidence. …Musings they are, since the classic approve/disapprove question is generic, asking nothing about policy, or anything particularly helpful for that matter. > > The charge that these poll numbers reflect something more severe to the president’s political fortunes than the relative unease about the economy and war felt by many Americans is as misplaced as the belief that approval ratings exceeding 70% insulates one from political or electoral vulnerability… > > That same poll revealed more-specific, and therefore more-relevant, assessments of the public’s opinion about President Bush, which have not received as much coverage as the approval rating. Americans told the pollsters at CNN/USA Today that they regard Mr. Bush as a strong and decisive leader (76%) who is willing to make hard decisions (83%) and who has a vision for the country’s future (68%). > > President Bush should lose no sleep over the latest ratings… Democrats – eat your hearts out! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/17 "2003-01-16T02:57:11Z")
**december** is Tucker Carlson! Unmasked! ---
**Author:** ![Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d07c76/32.png) [@Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Age_Quod_Agis)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/18 "2003-01-16T02:58:52Z")
> [@](#): > > _elucidator:_ > 5% in one week is not a slide, it is a plummet. . . . Indeed, some skeptical observers suggest that his is precisely why Iraq suddenly went from back burner to urgent crisis overnight. > > Absent any other sensible explanation, I am inclined to agree. . . . > > _Little Ol’ Me:_ > And President Clinton spoke out agaist Iraq for the duration of his 8 years in office, even going so far as to make “regime change in Iraq” the official American policy. Was he going for poll-spikes, too? > > _elucidator:_ > Didn’t need 'em. Peace and prosperity is kinda tough to beat. Ask Bob Dole. A valid point. But the question remains: if Clinton didn’t need regime change in Iraq to raise his public opinion levels, what “other sensible explanation” did he have for announcing a policy of regime change? ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/19 "2003-01-16T03:00:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elucidator \* > \*\ ***december** is Tucker Carlson! Unmasked! \*\* And unbow-tied. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838/20 "2003-01-16T03:48:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Age Quod Agis \* > \*\*A valid point. But the question remains: if Clinton didn’t need regime change in Iraq to raise his public opinion levels, what “other sensible explanation” did he have for announcing a policy of regime change? \*\* Who knows? Maybe just racheting up the pressure a point or two. At least he didnt do anything stupid like crank up the war machine. Bet he starts every morning, reaching for the paper and thinking “I wonder what that meathead did today?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-approval-rating-continues-to-fall/148838.md?page=2)