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Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independents

By Jeralyn, Section Other Politics
Posted on Tue Jun 07, 2005 at 12:45:12 PM EST
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The Washington Post reports that while Bush's approval rating this month remains at 48% (disapproval is at 52%):

A clear majority of Americans say President Bush is ignoring the public's concerns and instead has become distracted by issues that most people say they care little about, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The survey found that 58 percent of those interviewed said Bush is mainly concentrating in his second term on problems and partisan squabbles that these respondents said were unimportant to them. Four in 10--41 percent--said the president was focused on important problems--a double-digit drop from three years ago.

In a bad sign for Republicans,

... a strong majority of self-described political independents--68 percent--say they disagreed with the president's priorities.

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    Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independents | 15 comments (15 topical)
    Re: Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independen (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:48 PM EST
    Nope, I just don't believe that independents would want to risk going to hell by not approving of the job George Jesus is doing. Rather I choose to believe that the Liberal Media is up to their regular tricks of making bad things up about our Preznit. Like how he mislead the American people into a war. Or that he did cocaine. Or was a coward and went AWOL from the TANG. Or that he was a C average student while attending Yale. The list of all the lies the Liberal Media has told about GJ can go on forever. And I don't believe any of it, every since I was lobotimized.

    Re: Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independen (none / 0) (#2)
    by wg on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:49 PM EST
    48% is not bad given the circumstances. 08 will be tough. Reckless language doesn't help. No need for gulags and nazis, they are bad enough as is.

    Re: Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independen (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:49 PM EST
    Count me as one of those independents who think that a 1970's toaster oven could do a better job running this country than George Bush.

    Re: Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independen (none / 0) (#4)
    by narius on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:49 PM EST
    Well, polls said Kerry won the race in 2004 too. We know how accurate that is.

    Re: Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independen (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:49 PM EST
    Narius- How's the Kool-Aid? It ain't just independants, either; Bush's approval ratings are dropping all over, and faster than Jeff Gannon's drawers in a bawdy house...

    Re: Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independen (none / 0) (#6)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:49 PM EST
    A Santayana momenbt for those who don't know history: Here are the approval ratings for presidents as recorded by Gallup (all for March): Truman, 1949: 57%. Eisenhower, 1957: 65%. Johnson, 1965: 69%. Nixon, 1973: 57%. Reagan, 1985: 56%. Clinton, 1997: 59% . Bush, 2005: 45% . So while some say bushco doesn't look too bad, the reality is his ratings are lower than Clinton's, when Clinton was being impeached. And way lower than Bill's at teh end of his second term.

    Re: Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independen (none / 0) (#7)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:49 PM EST
    Clarification: all for March in their 2nd term.

    Re: Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independen (none / 0) (#8)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:49 PM EST
    Don't worry George W., the Rapturists love the job you are doing to bring about the Apocalypse.

    Re: Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independen (none / 0) (#9)
    by jimcee on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:49 PM EST
    As an independent myself I was rather suprized by W's re-election. I voted for him because I felt that if the best the Dems could come up with is Sen Kerry then Bush wins, period. There are some very talented people in the Democratic party; Lieberman, Ford,...well I'm running on empty here. The party needs a makeover more sooner than later but as long as the tune is being called by the far Left I just can't dance to that Democratic waltz. Right now the Republicans are dopey but the Dems are dopier. and obstinate. Perhaps it time everyone drops the Repub/Demo and Right /Left paradigm and be more pragmatic. Stop watching or listening to the talking heads and listen to yourself. There is nothing more pathetic than "talking points" on either side as they just make the people that use them partisan hacks and those that believe them nitwits.

    Re: Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independen (none / 0) (#10)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:49 PM EST
    et al - How many times must you be reminded that Bush doesn't pay attention to polls. He has his convictions, he sets his goals, and win or loose, he proceeds. Some people love that, some people want to hear an echo of what they said. But either way, it isn't going to change.

    Re: Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independen (none / 0) (#11)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:50 PM EST
    What a laugh, bush moved the goal posts everytime public opinion went against him. Can you say '9/11 comission', I thought you could. Of course the thread isn't about rush limbaugh's ranting points, it's about the fact that bush has a lower approval rating than any president in the last 2 centuries. "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and you can fool all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." Golly, and it's only taken 5 years and 2 crooked elections.

    Re: Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independen (none / 0) (#12)
    by Dark Avenger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:50 PM EST
    Instead, Bush has governed as the most partisan president in modern U.S. history. The pillars of his compassionate-conservative agenda--the faith-based initiative, charitable tax credits, additional spending on education--have been abandoned or absurdly underfunded. Instead, Bush's legislative strategy has revolved around wringing out narrow, party-line votes for conservative priorities by applying relentless pressure to GOP moderates--in one case, to the point of driving Vermont's James Jeffords out of the party. Indeed, when bipartisanship shows even the slightest sign of life, Bush usually responds by ruthlessly tamping it down. In 2001, he convinced GOP Representative Charlie Norwood to abandon his long-cherished patients' bill of rights, which enjoyed widespread Democratic support. According to a Washington Post account, Bush and other White House officials "met with Norwood for hours and issued endless appeals to party loyalty." Such behavior is now so routine that it barely rates notice. Link But that turned out to be a wildly optimistic assumption. While I was on vacation last week, The Washington Post's Jonathan Weisman reported that the Bushies are not, in fact, planning on calling the debt they issue to privatize Social Security "debt." Weisman takes you through the various ways the White House and the congressional GOP might try pulling off this trick. But the bottom line is that any increase in borrowing used to finance personal Social Security accounts is unlikely to show up in the Bushies' accounting of the federal deficit. How did I not anticipate this? From the 11/28/2004 column etc. in The New Republic. The above statements might be seen as part of the reason that the Presidents' ratings aren't very good with independents. Also, while aWol can afford to govern without regard to public opinion because he will be out of office in 2009, his Republican 'friends' in both Houses will be watching the polls, and will separate from Bushco if they believe that such action will help them to keep their seats in 2007.

    Re: Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independen (none / 0) (#13)
    by wg on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:50 PM EST
    48% given the situation is not too bad, I maintain, that's where he's been since mid 04. See here. Should be in low 30s imho.

    Re: Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independen (none / 0) (#14)
    by Slado on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:50 PM EST
    I realize that this is a demo rah rah site but to seriously doubt that Repulicans won't keep control in 2006 is foolish. I remember simialar chatter in say September 2004 and Bush both won and added seats in Congress. As for his historic approval rating who cares? You dems hate him anyway but he's still president. It's low because he pushes the envelope as apposed to compromising to the other parties agenda...IE Clinton...and constantly watching opinion polls when he makes decisions...IE Clinton.

    Re: Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independen (none / 0) (#15)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:52 PM EST
    Slado...hows the Social Security gutting going?

    Bush Approval Rating Plummets Among Independents | 15 comments (15 topical)