# Bush most unpopular in modern History **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 1, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649 "2008-05-01T18:39:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/1 "2008-05-01T18:39:13Z")
A [CNN/Opinion Research Survey](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/01/poll-bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/#more-6821) just released shows that GW Bush has the highest disapproval rating of any president ever measured. Is this disapproval rating deserved? Will it make any difference to his opinion of himself, or his behaviour in the next 10 months? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/2 "2008-05-01T18:44:36Z")
[QUOTE=Euphonious Polemic] A [CNN/Opinion Research Survey](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/01/poll-bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/#more-6821) just released shows that GW Bush has the highest disapproval rating of any president ever measured. Is this disapproval rating deserved? [/quote] Why not? Those are just opinions anyway. They don’t have to be justified. > [@](#): > > Will it make any difference to his opinion of himself, or his behaviour in the next 10 months? No. (He’s been a lame duck since the 2006 midterm elections.) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/3 "2008-05-01T19:04:07Z")
It’ll really take time and the perspective of history to rank Bush in the scheme of American presidents. Not sure what an opinion poll is really worth. That said if my opinion is worth anything I think he has to rank as one of the worst presidents ever and perhaps THE worst. I am not alone in that opinion: > [@](#): > > Thomas has publicly expressed her opinion about Bush. After a speech at a Society of Professional Journalists banquet, she told an autograph-seeker who asked why she was sad, “I’m covering the worst president in American history.” > > SOURCE: [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Thomas#Bush_administration) on Helen Thomas, News Service reporter who has covered every president since JFK ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/4 "2008-05-01T19:17:21Z")
\*\*This President has done much to deserve his low approval rating. \*\* His presidency has seen a greatly falling dollar without the normal increases in manufacturing jobs. A weak economy for all but the rich. A war that appears unjust and that is generally considered a quagmire. A too strong VP that has publicly tried to defend the use of torture. A general loss of goodwill around the world. A failure to address environmental issues combined with record profits for oil companies that are the main business of his and his evil VP’s family and friends. Sweetheart deals to Haliburton that probably would have brought down any other politician. The debacle of cronyism that hampered Katrina response. Many verbal gaffs, more than any President I can recall and his Dad was somewhat challenged in this area. His admin has outed a CIA agent in retribution for a negative article, it made up reports about Iraq. It has our brave Volunteer military personnel stretch to the limits. The disgrace of the lack of equipment and training for the military and of course the VA hospital problems. I could go on, but I will stop. **Yes, I think this disapproval rating is deserved!** ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/5 "2008-05-01T19:39:31Z")
I emphatically agree with **What Exit?** and, to his all-too-accurate litany of Bush bungling/misdeeds, would add a Federal budget which has gone from record surpluses to the biggest deficit, in real dollars, in U.S. history, as well as dropping the ball in Afghanistan and letting Osama bin Laden get away. Buchanan still has pride of place for dilly-dallying as the Civil War storm clouds gathered, and both Grant and Harding let their “friends” rob the country blind, but Bush has an excellent shot at winning the Worst President Ever trophy. Time will tell. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/6 "2008-05-01T19:47:47Z")
I would think that at least **some** of the 29% who did not disapprove of Bush in this survey would not give a disapproval rating to ANY sitting president at ANY time. To them, it is treasonous to show disapproval of your president. “my country, right or wrong”. If a poll were taken this time next year, it would be interesting to see what Bush’s “disapproval” rating was. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/7 "2008-05-01T19:49:34Z")
Few other presidents, simply due to technology, have had the power and presence to do as much harm as Bush. Could Andrew Johnson fight two wars on the other side of the globe and still have time to piss off Venezuela, North Korea, etc? No. By global standards Bush is indeed one of the worst or THE worst president ever. That said, I have a creeping fear that _every_ president from now on will have to be the WORST. PRESIDENT. EVER. just to justify the bloodlust and disdain that much of the media and a growing number of citizens have for the government. This is one of the reasons I want Obama in the White House. Way too many people hate Hillary to an irrational extent (unfortunately they’re already trumping up reasons to hate Obama such as the J. Wright bullshit but that’s beyond the scope of this discussion I think.) ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/8 "2008-05-01T20:09:53Z")
I simply can’t fathom how nearly one-third of people can approve of the job he’s doing. It can’t even be party lines, as Bush has done nearly as much to piss off righties as lefties. Even if you think the invasion of Iraq was the correct thing to do, you can’t possibly approve of the way it’s been handled. I think **Euphonious Polemic’s** point about “my county right or wrong” is dead on. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/9 "2008-05-01T20:45:22Z")
And don’t forget folks, one reason he’s the president is that the guy who played a key role in making the internet what it is today one referred to that accomplishment in such a way as to allow some jerkwad to spin it into, “he thinks he _invented_ the internet! What a tool!”. You might say that Bush was elected by the stupidest voters in history. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/10 "2008-05-01T20:56:36Z")
[QUOTE=sqweels] And don’t forget folks, one reason he’s the president is that the guy who played a key role in making the internet what it is today one referred to that accomplishment in such a way as to allow some jerkwad to spin it into, “he thinks he _invented_ the internet! What a tool!”. You might say that Bush was elected by the stupidest voters in history. [/QUOTE] Now that is bullshit, Gore was a stiff speaker, ran a weak campaign and failed to have an evil genius puppet master like Carl Rove pulling his strings. It was a lot more than the “invented the internet” thing. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/11 "2008-05-01T21:43:30Z")
[QUOTE=jk1245] I simply can’t fathom how nearly one-third of people can approve of the job he’s doing. [/QUOTE] Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/12 "2008-05-01T21:48:57Z")
In other news, the sky is blue… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/13 "2008-05-01T21:58:18Z")
[QUOTE=Euphonious Polemic] Is this disapproval rating deserved? [/quote] Discussed at length in [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=463245) recent thread. Yes, IMO. [QUOTE=Euphonious Polemic] Will it make any difference to his opinion of himself, or his behaviour in the next 10 months? [/QUOTE] Let us hope not. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/14 "2008-05-01T22:00:46Z")
[QUOTE=jk1245] I simply can’t fathom how nearly one-third of people can approve of the job he’s doing. [/QUOTE] I’m reminded of this quote : > [@](#): > > John: Hey, Bush is now at 37% approval. I feel much less like Kevin McCarthy screaming in traffic. But I wonder what his base is – > > Tyrone: 27%. > > John: … you said that immmediately, and with some authority. > > Tyrone: Obama vs. Alan Keyes. Keyes was from out of state, so you can eliminate any established political base; both candidates were black, so you can factor out racism; and Keyes was plainly, obviously, completely crazy. Batshit crazy. Head-trauma crazy. But 27% of the population of Illinois voted for him. They put party identification, personal prejudice, whatever ahead of rational judgement. Hell, even like 5% of Democrats voted for him. That’s crazy behaviour. I think you have to assume a 27% Crazification Factor in any population. > > John: Objectively crazy or crazy vis-a-vis my own inertial reference frame for rational behaviour? I mean, are you creating the Theory of Special Crazification or General Crazification? > > Tyrone: Hadn’t thought about it. Let’s split the difference. Half just have worldviews which lead them to disagree with what you consider rationality even though they arrive at their positions through rational means, and the other half are the core of the Crazification – either genuinely crazy; or so woefully misinformed about how the world works, the bases for their decision making is so flawed they may as well be crazy. > > John: You realize this leads to there being over 30 million crazy people in the US? > > Tyrone: Does that seem wrong? > > John: … a bit low, actually. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/15 "2008-05-01T22:07:59Z")
Ah…another ‘Bush is the worst President in the history of the Universe!’ thread. Shocking. 😉 Two things…first off, the title of the thread is incorrect. Not the caveat from the linked article: > [@](#): > > “No president has ever had a higher disapproval rating **in any CNN or Gallup poll;** in fact, this is the first time that any president’s disapproval rating has cracked the 70 percent mark,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. I suppose it hinges on what exactly ‘modern history’ encompasses. Personally I think of ‘modern history’ as going back a bit further than CNN or Gallup polls, but that’s just me. Note: > [@](#): > > “Bush’s approval rating, which stands at 28 percent in our new poll, remains better than the all-time lows set by Harry Truman and Richard Nixon (22 percent and 24 percent, respectively) but even those two presidents never got a disapproval rating in the 70s,” Holland added. “The previous all-time record in CNN or Gallup polling was set by Truman, 66 percent disapproval in January 1952.” So, they are pretty much playing with the numbers a touch. That said: > [@](#): > > Is this disapproval rating deserved? Oh my…certainly. I think he deserves everything he gets. > [@](#): > > Will it make any difference to his opinion of himself, or his behaviour in the next 10 months? Certainly not. The man has shown that he is pretty much immune from the slings and arrows of others. Simply put he could care less what anyone thinks of what he does. He does what he want and what he thinks is right and devil hang anyone who disagrees. He’s not interested. -XT ---
**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/16 "2008-05-01T22:09:06Z")
[QUOTE=sqweels] And don’t forget folks, one reason he’s the president is that the guy who played a key role in making the internet what it is today one referred to that accomplishment in such a way as to allow some jerkwad to spin it into, “he thinks he _invented_ the internet! What a tool!”. You might say that Bush was elected by the stupidest voters in history. [/QUOTE] Stupid in America runs far deeper than Bush voters. Don’t forget that Gore might also have been president if stupid voters in Florida knew how to read a ballot correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/17 "2008-05-01T22:18:08Z")
Hey everyone…a **reeder** sighting! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/18 "2008-05-01T22:24:31Z")
[QUOTE=xtisme] Ah…another ‘Bush is the worst President in the history of the Universe!’ thread. Shocking. 😉 [/QUOTE] Not surprised there are other threads - see BrainGlutton’s link. I cannot search for them however… and this seemed to be a recent newsworthy item. [QUOTE=xtisme] First off, the title of the thread is incorrect. Not the caveat from the linked article: [/QUOTE] There is a limit to the length of the title. Next time I will try for a title like “Bush most unpopular in recent history of CNN or Gallup Poll, as referenced in CNN website, please discuss the veracity of the aforementioned document.” ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/19 "2008-05-01T22:25:48Z")
Just tongue in cheek there…no worries. Have just seen a lot of these threads in the past is all. 😃 -XT ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649/20 "2008-05-01T22:48:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Certainly not. The man has shown that he is pretty much immune from the slings and arrows of others. Simply put he could care less what anyone thinks of what he does. He does what he want and what he thinks is right and devil hang anyone who disagrees. He’s not interested. Does he do what he thinks is right or what he is told to do? I honestly do not know; it is easy to think of him as a puppet with Cheney pulling the strings but it is equally easy to think of him as a spoiled rotten rich kid who has to have his own way no matter how wrong that way is. Either way the man is a total disaster. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-most-unpopular-in-modern-history/447649.md?page=2)