Polls & Research
Archive Search
September Brings Bush Approval Rating Down
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Public support for George W. Bush is reaching record lows in the United States, according to a poll by TNS released by the Washington Post and ABC News. 57 per cent of respondents disapprove of the president's performance, up four points since late August.
Bush—a Republican—earned a second four-year term in the November 2004 presidential election. The current approval rating of 42 per cent is the lowest for the sitting president in a national TNS/Washington Post/ABC News poll. Earlier this month, Bush also registered all-time lows in surveys by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, Zogby International, Ipsos-Public Affairs/Associated Press, Newsweek, and Hart/McInturff/Wall Street Journal/NBC News.
Hurricane Katrina hit the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Aug. 29. Officials believe thousands of residents may have died as a result of the storm and its aftermath.
On Sept. 15, Bush outlined the government's proposals to change federal guidelines for relief procedures, saying, "Our cities must have clear and up-to-date plans for responding to natural disasters, and disease outbreaks, or a terrorist attack, for evacuating large numbers of people in an emergency, and for providing the food and water and security they would need. In a time of terror threats and weapons of mass destruction, the danger to our citizens reaches much wider than a fault line or a flood plain."
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of George W. Bush's performance as president?
Sept. 11 | Aug. 28 | Jun. 26 | Jun. 5 | |
Approve | 42% | 45% | 48% | 48% |
Disapprove | 57% | 53% | 51% | 52% |
Source: TNS / Washington Post / ABC News
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 1,201 American adults, conducted from Sept. 8 to Sept. 11, 2005. Margin of error is 3 per cent.