Polls & Research

Roughly a Third of Americans Approve of Bush

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Few adults in the United States are satisfied with the way George W. Bush is doing his job, according to a review of seven recent public opinion polls. In a survey by Opinion Dynamics released by Fox News, 37 per cent of respondents approve of the way the American president is handling his duties.

Bush’s rating stands at 36 per cent in a study by Opinion Research Corporation for CNN, and 33 per cent on polls by TNS for the Washington Post and ABC News, Gallup for USA Today, Ipsos-Public Affairs for the Associated Press, and Hart/Newhouse for the Wall Street Journal and NBC News. In a CBS News survey, only 30 per cent of respondents approve of the president’s performance.

Bush—a Republican—earned a second four-year term in the November 2004 presidential election. The U.S. president’s approval rating has not surpassed the 40 per cent mark in a national survey since December 2006. 

In his Sept. 15 radio address, Bush discussed the situation in Iraq, saying, "The success of a free Iraq is critical to the security of the United States. If we were to be driven out of Iraq, extremists of all strains would be emboldened. Al -Qaeda could find new recruits and new sanctuaries. And a failed Iraq could increase the likelihood that our forces would someday have to return—and confront extremists even more entrenched and even more deadly. By contrast, a free Iraq will deny al-Qaeda a safe haven. It will counter the destructive ambitions of Iran. And it will serve as a partner in the fight against terrorism."

Polling Data

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

	Sept. 12	Aug. 22	Jul. 18	Jun. 27
Approve	37%	33%	32%	31%
Disapprove	58%	56%	61%	60%

Source: Opinion Dynamics / Fox News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 900 registered American voters, conducted on Sept. 11 and Sept. 12, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

b) Do you approve or disapprove of George W. Bush’s performance as president?

	Sept. 9	Aug. 8	Jun. 24	May 6
Approve	36%	36%	32%	38%
Disapprove	61%	61%	66%	61%

Source: Opinion Research Corporation / CNN
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,017 American adults, conducted from Sept. 7 to Sept. 9, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

c) Do you approve or disapprove of George W. Bush’s performance as president?

	Sept. 7	Jul. 21	Jun. 1	Apr. 12
Approve	33%	33%	35%	35%
Disapprove	64%	65%	62%	62%

Source: TNS / Washington Post / ABC News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,002 American adults, conducted from Sept. 4 to Sept. 7, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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

	Sept. 8	Aug. 16	Aug. 5	Jul. 15
Approve	33%	32%	34%	31%
Disapprove	62%	63%	62%	63%

Source: Gallup / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,028 American adults, conducted on Sept. 7 and Sept. 8, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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

	Sept. 12	Aug. 8	Jul. 11	Jun. 6
Approve	33%	35%	33%	32%
Disapprove	64%	62%	65%	66%
Mixed feelings	2%	2%	1%	1%

Source: Ipsos-Public Affairs / Associated Press
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 American adults, conducted from Sept. 10 to Sept. 12, 2007. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.

f) In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job that George W. Bush is doing as president?

	Sept. 10	Jul. 30	Jun. 11	Apr. 23
Approve	33%	31%	29%	35%
Disapprove	61%	63%	66%	60%

Source: Hart/Newhouse / The Wall Street Journal / NBC News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,008 American adults, conducted from Sept. 7 to Sept. 10, 2007. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.

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

	Sept. 8	Aug. 29	Jul. 22	Jul. 17
Approve	30%	29%	30%	29%
Disapprove	64%	64%	62%	64%

Source: CBS News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,036 American adults, conducted from Sept. 4 to Sept. 8, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.