WASHINGTON For the first time in his presidency, a majority of Americans question the integrity of President Bush, and growing doubts about his leadership have left him with record negative ratings on the economy, Iraq and even the war on terrorism, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
On virtually every key measure of presidential character and performance, the new survey found that Bush has never been less popular with the American people. Currently, 39 percent of those polled approve of the job he is doing as president, while 60 percent disapprove of his performance in office, the highest level of disapproval ever recorded for Bush in Post-ABC polls.
Bush's approval rating is the lowest of any recent two-term president at a comparable time in the term, except for Richard Nixon, according to another poll. CBS News reported Wednesday that at a similar time in his second term, President Reagan enjoyed approval from 65 percent of voters, while 57 percent of those surveyed approved of the job President Clinton was doing. Nixon's approval rating was 27 percent in a Gallup poll at a similar time in his second term amid the Watergate scandal, CBS said.
Overall, the survey underscores how several pillars of Bush's presidency have begun to crumble under the combined weight of events and mistakes by the White House. Bush's approval ratings have been in decline for months, but on issues of personal trust, honesty and values, Bush has suffered some of his most notable declines.
Moreover, Bush had always retained majority support for his handling of the U.S. campaign against terrorism until now, when 51 percent registered disapproval.
Highlights of the poll
Alito a bright spot: Virtually the only possible bright spot for Bush in the survey was the generally favorable, if not quite enthusiastic, early reaction to his latest Supreme Court nominee, Samuel Alito. Half of Americans polled say Alito should be confirmed by the Senate, and fewer than a third view him as too conservative, the poll found.
Integrity: The CIA leak case has apparently contributed to a decline in how Americans view Bush personally. The survey found that 40 percent now view him as honest and trustworthy, a drop of 13 percentage points in the past 18 months. Fifty-eight percent said they had doubts about Bush's honesty, the first time in his presidency that more than half of those polled have questioned his personal integrity.
The indictment and resignation last Friday of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, in the CIA leak case added to the burden of an administration already reeling from a failed Supreme Court nomination, public dissatisfaction with the economy and continued bloodshed in Iraq.
According to the survey, 52 percent say the charges against Libby signal the presence of deeper ethical wrongdoing in the administration. Half believe that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, the president's top political adviser, also did something wrong in the case, and roughly six in 10 say Rove should resign.
Beyond the leak case, Americans give the administration low ratings on ethics, according to the survey, with 67 percent rating the administration negatively on handling ethical matters, while just 32 percent give positive marks. Forty-three percent say the level of ethics and honesty in the federal government has fallen during Bush's presidency, while 17 percent say it has risen.
Iraq war fallout: Iraq remains a significant drag on Bush's presidency, with dissatisfaction over the situation there continuing to grow and with rising suspicion that administration officials misled the country over reasons for the invasion more than two years ago.
Nearly two-thirds of those polled disapprove of the way Bush is handling the situation there, while barely a third approve, a new low. Six in 10 now believe the United States was wrong to invade Iraq, a seven-point increase in just over two months, with almost half of those polled saying they strongly believe it was wrong.
Seventy-three percent said there has been an unacceptable level of casualties in Iraq. Fifty-two percent said the war with Iraq has not contributed to the long-term security of the United States.
Fifty-two percent said the United States should keep its military forces in Iraq until civil order is restored, while 18 percent said the U.S. should withdraw its forces immediately. In the week after U.S. deaths in Iraq passed the 2,000 mark, a majority of those surveyed 55 percent said the U.S. is not making significant progress toward stabilizing the country.
The war has taken a toll on the administration's credibility, with 55 percent now saying the administration deliberately misled the country in making its case for war with Iraq.
Economy: Just 35 percent of those surveyed rated the economy as either excellent or good, with 65 percent describing it as not so good or poor. Although the government reported last week that the gross domestic product rose 3.8 percent in the past quarter, despite the effects of Hurricane Katrina, 29 percent of those surveyed said they regarded the economy as poor, the highest recorded during Bush's presidency.
Health care: Six in 10 are critical of the way Bush is dealing with health care, a double-digit increase since March.
Gasoline prices: Bush's numbers have increased slightly over the past two months but still remain highly negative, with just 26 percent rating him positively.
Direction of country: The dissatisfaction with Bush flows in part out of broad concerns about the overall direction of the country. Sixty-eight percent believe the country is seriously off course, while only 30 percent are optimistic, the lowest level in more than nine years. Only three in 10 express high levels of confidence in Bush; half say they have little or no confidence in this administration.
Republican slippage: Attitudes toward Bush are sharply polarized by party, as they have been throughout his presidency. Seventy-eight percent of Republicans support the president, while just 11 percent of Democrats rate him positively. Republicans long have been the key to Bush's overall strength, but Bush has suffered some defections since the beginning of the year, when 91 percent approved of the way he was handling his job.
Independents flee: Among independents, Bush's approval has plummeted since the beginning of the year. In the latest poll, 33 percent of independents approved of his performance, while 66 percent disapproved. In January, independents were evenly divided.
Deeper hostility, weaker support: The intensity of Bush's support has changed since his re-election a year ago, with opponents deepening their hostility toward the administration. In the latest survey, 47 percent said they strongly disapproved of the way he was performing in office, compared with 35 percent who expressed strong disapproval in January. At the same time, the percentage who say they strongly approve of his performance has fallen from 33 percent last January to 20 percent today.
Down even on terrorism: The president's handling of terrorism was widely regarded among strategists as the key to his winning a second term last year. But his 48 percent approval now compares with 61 percent approval on this issue at the time of his second inaugural, and comes after a 2004 high of 66 percent.
Growing apart: The survey suggests a rapidly widening gulf between Bush and the American people. Two in three of those polled say Bush doesn't understand the problems of people like them, an increase of 10 percentage points since January.
On virtually every key measure of presidential character and performance, the new survey found that Bush has never been less popular with the American people. Currently, 39 percent of those polled approve of the job he is doing as president, while 60 percent disapprove of his performance in office, the highest level of disapproval ever recorded for Bush in Post-ABC polls.
Bush's approval rating is the lowest of any recent two-term president at a comparable time in the term, except for Richard Nixon, according to another poll. CBS News reported Wednesday that at a similar time in his second term, President Reagan enjoyed approval from 65 percent of voters, while 57 percent of those surveyed approved of the job President Clinton was doing. Nixon's approval rating was 27 percent in a Gallup poll at a similar time in his second term amid the Watergate scandal, CBS said.
Overall, the survey underscores how several pillars of Bush's presidency have begun to crumble under the combined weight of events and mistakes by the White House. Bush's approval ratings have been in decline for months, but on issues of personal trust, honesty and values, Bush has suffered some of his most notable declines.
Moreover, Bush had always retained majority support for his handling of the U.S. campaign against terrorism until now, when 51 percent registered disapproval.
Highlights of the poll
Alito a bright spot: Virtually the only possible bright spot for Bush in the survey was the generally favorable, if not quite enthusiastic, early reaction to his latest Supreme Court nominee, Samuel Alito. Half of Americans polled say Alito should be confirmed by the Senate, and fewer than a third view him as too conservative, the poll found.
Integrity: The CIA leak case has apparently contributed to a decline in how Americans view Bush personally. The survey found that 40 percent now view him as honest and trustworthy, a drop of 13 percentage points in the past 18 months. Fifty-eight percent said they had doubts about Bush's honesty, the first time in his presidency that more than half of those polled have questioned his personal integrity.
The indictment and resignation last Friday of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, in the CIA leak case added to the burden of an administration already reeling from a failed Supreme Court nomination, public dissatisfaction with the economy and continued bloodshed in Iraq.
According to the survey, 52 percent say the charges against Libby signal the presence of deeper ethical wrongdoing in the administration. Half believe that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, the president's top political adviser, also did something wrong in the case, and roughly six in 10 say Rove should resign.
Beyond the leak case, Americans give the administration low ratings on ethics, according to the survey, with 67 percent rating the administration negatively on handling ethical matters, while just 32 percent give positive marks. Forty-three percent say the level of ethics and honesty in the federal government has fallen during Bush's presidency, while 17 percent say it has risen.
Iraq war fallout: Iraq remains a significant drag on Bush's presidency, with dissatisfaction over the situation there continuing to grow and with rising suspicion that administration officials misled the country over reasons for the invasion more than two years ago.
Nearly two-thirds of those polled disapprove of the way Bush is handling the situation there, while barely a third approve, a new low. Six in 10 now believe the United States was wrong to invade Iraq, a seven-point increase in just over two months, with almost half of those polled saying they strongly believe it was wrong.
Seventy-three percent said there has been an unacceptable level of casualties in Iraq. Fifty-two percent said the war with Iraq has not contributed to the long-term security of the United States.
Fifty-two percent said the United States should keep its military forces in Iraq until civil order is restored, while 18 percent said the U.S. should withdraw its forces immediately. In the week after U.S. deaths in Iraq passed the 2,000 mark, a majority of those surveyed 55 percent said the U.S. is not making significant progress toward stabilizing the country.
The war has taken a toll on the administration's credibility, with 55 percent now saying the administration deliberately misled the country in making its case for war with Iraq.
Economy: Just 35 percent of those surveyed rated the economy as either excellent or good, with 65 percent describing it as not so good or poor. Although the government reported last week that the gross domestic product rose 3.8 percent in the past quarter, despite the effects of Hurricane Katrina, 29 percent of those surveyed said they regarded the economy as poor, the highest recorded during Bush's presidency.
Health care: Six in 10 are critical of the way Bush is dealing with health care, a double-digit increase since March.
Gasoline prices: Bush's numbers have increased slightly over the past two months but still remain highly negative, with just 26 percent rating him positively.
Direction of country: The dissatisfaction with Bush flows in part out of broad concerns about the overall direction of the country. Sixty-eight percent believe the country is seriously off course, while only 30 percent are optimistic, the lowest level in more than nine years. Only three in 10 express high levels of confidence in Bush; half say they have little or no confidence in this administration.
Republican slippage: Attitudes toward Bush are sharply polarized by party, as they have been throughout his presidency. Seventy-eight percent of Republicans support the president, while just 11 percent of Democrats rate him positively. Republicans long have been the key to Bush's overall strength, but Bush has suffered some defections since the beginning of the year, when 91 percent approved of the way he was handling his job.
Independents flee: Among independents, Bush's approval has plummeted since the beginning of the year. In the latest poll, 33 percent of independents approved of his performance, while 66 percent disapproved. In January, independents were evenly divided.
Deeper hostility, weaker support: The intensity of Bush's support has changed since his re-election a year ago, with opponents deepening their hostility toward the administration. In the latest survey, 47 percent said they strongly disapproved of the way he was performing in office, compared with 35 percent who expressed strong disapproval in January. At the same time, the percentage who say they strongly approve of his performance has fallen from 33 percent last January to 20 percent today.
Down even on terrorism: The president's handling of terrorism was widely regarded among strategists as the key to his winning a second term last year. But his 48 percent approval now compares with 61 percent approval on this issue at the time of his second inaugural, and comes after a 2004 high of 66 percent.
Growing apart: The survey suggests a rapidly widening gulf between Bush and the American people. Two in three of those polled say Bush doesn't understand the problems of people like them, an increase of 10 percentage points since January.
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
so, um, happy election day?
how many more years of this shit do we have to deal with? and when are the dems going to start being more vocal?