Issue Watch

About Angus Reid Global Monitor

The definitive online source for examining worldwide public opinion and democratic processes.

The Global Monitor is a vital source of timely political intelligence for journalists, students, policy makers, and citizens. By merging academic expertise with the highest journalistic standards, we seek to advance research, improve information exchange, and enhance understanding of the changing dynamic of public opinion and democracy.
Read More

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

All fields are required.

Bush Rating Hovering Around 33% in U.S.

November 19, 2006

- Support for George W. Bush has dropped since the mid-term congressional election in the United States, according to a review of five recent public opinion polls. 36 per cent of respondents to a survey by Ipsos-Public Affairs for the Associated Press approve of the American president's performance.

Bush's approval rating reaches 34 per cent in a study by CBS News, 33 per cent in a poll by Gallup for USA Today, 32 per cent in a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, and 31 per cent in a study by Princeton Survey Research Associates released by Newsweek. In four of the five surveys, the president's rating fell by at least two points.

Bush—a Republican—earned a second four-year term in the November 2004 presidential election. Yesterday in his weekly radio address, Bush discussed the war on terrorism, saying, "The greatest danger in our world today is that these terrorists could get their hands on weapons of mass destruction and use them to blackmail free nations or kill on an unimaginable scale. This threat poses a risk to our entire civilization, and we're working with our partners in the Asia Pacific region to defeat it."

Polling Data

a) Overall, do you approve, disapprove or have mixed feelings about the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?

Nov. 15

Oct. 25

Oct. 4

Approve

36%

38%

38%

Disapprove

62%

61%

59%

Mixed feelings

1%

1%

2%

Source: Ipsos-Public Affairs / Associated Press
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 American adults, conducted from Nov. 13 to Nov. 15, 2006. Margin of error is 2.8 per cent.

b) Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?

Nov. 13

Oct. 31

Oct. 8

Sept. 19

Approve

34%

34%

34%

37%

Disapprove

61%

58%

60%

56%

Source: CBS News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 721 American adults, conducted from Nov. 11 to Nov. 13, 2006. Margin of error is 4 per cent.

c) Do you approve or disapprove of how George W. Bush is handling his job as president?

Nov. 12

Oct. 22

Oct. 12

Oct. 8

Approve

33%

37%

37%

37%

Disapprove

62%

58%

57%

59%

Source: Gallup / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,004 American adults, conducted from Nov. 9 to Nov. 12, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

d) Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?

Nov. 2006

Oct. 2006

Sept. 2006

Aug. 2006

Approve

32%

37%

37%

37%

Disapprove

58%

53%

53%

54%

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,479 American adults, conducted from Nov. 9 to Nov. 12, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

e) Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?

Nov. 10

Oct. 27

Oct. 20

Oct. 6

Approve

31%

37%

35%

33%

Disapprove

63%

53%

57%

59%

Source: Princeton Survey Research Associates / Newsweek
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,006 American adults, conducted on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10, 2006. Margin of error is 4 per cent.