Bush Approval Rating Sinks To New Low

On the 5th anniversary of the Iraq War, only 31 percent of Americans approve of how President Bush is handling his job.   67  percent disapprove of his performance and his 40-point drop in popularity since the Iraq war started is only rivaled by the Vietnam War.

“Bush’s approval rating five years ago, at the start of the Iraq war, was 71 percent, and that 40-point drop is almost identical to the drop President Lyndon Johnson faced during the Vietnam War,” said CNN polling director Keating Holland.

Believe it or not, Bush’s ratings overall aren’t as low as some we’ve seen in the past, including Bush Sr.

Bush’s approval number is still better than the lowest number for his father, George H.W. Bush, who bottomed out at 29 percent in July 1992; Jimmy Carter, who fell to 28 percent in June 1979; Richard Nixon, at 24 percent in July and August of 1974; and Harry Truman, who dipped to 22 percent in 1952.

“Lame-duck presidents presiding over unpopular wars or struggling economies have gotten low approval ratings in the past.” Holland said.  “By contrast, lame ducks like Ronald Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower and Bill Clinton had robust approval ratings in their final years in office, but each one was presiding over good economic times and a country at peace.”

It’s not  a surprise to me that Bush’s approval rating is so low, what is surprising to  me is that there are still 31% of Americans that can’t face the facts and accept that their President is a humiliating stain on American history.

Fred Soto is an Attorney and Entrepreneur from the Silicon Valley.
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