(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Less than three-in-ten Americans offer a positive assessment of George W. Bush’s performance, according to two recent public opinion polls. In a survey by Gallup released by USA Today, 28 per cent of respondents approve of the way the American president is handling his job.

Bush’s rating also stands at 28 per cent in a study by CBS News and the New York Times.

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.

On May 7, Bush discussed the situation in Cuba, saying, "If Cuba wants to join the community of civilized nations, then Cuba’s rulers must begin a process of peaceful democratic change. And the first step must be to release all political prisoners. They must respect the human rights in word and in deed. And they must allow what the Cuban people have desired for generations—to pick their own leaders in free and fair elections. This is the policy of the United States, and it must not change until the people of Cuba are free."

Polling Data

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

Source: Gallup / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,016 American adults, conducted from May 1 to May 3, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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

Source: CBS News / New York Times
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 671 American adults, conducted from May 1 to May 3, 2008. Margin of error is 4 per cent.

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