Plummeting Ratings, & He Doesn’t Seem to Care


A CNN poll conducted in the end of August on 1,033 Americans by Opinion Research of CNN (with sampling errors of plus-or-minus 3 points) indicated that the majority of Americans disapprove of Bush: 57 percent to 42 percent. The poll also indicated that the opposition among Americans to the war in Iraq had reached a new high, with only about a third of respondents saying they favor it, (35 percent of 1,033 adults polled say they favor the war in Iraq; 61 percent say they oppose it) -- the highest opposition noted in any CNN poll since the conflict began more than three years ago. Despite the growing opposition to the war, President Bush said the U.S. will not withdraw from Iraq while he is president. "Leaving before the job is done would be a disaster," the president said. (Full story) Bush dismissed a question about his popularity during a news conference a few days later "I don't think you've ever heard me say: 'Gosh, I better change positions because the polls say this or that,'" he told reporters. "I've been here long enough to understand, you cannot make good decisions if you're trying to chase a poll." See the Fox News Video where Bush adamantly defends his stance in the war in Iraq and his overall dismisses the validity of the poll results in an interview with Sean Hannity.

Recently his ratings have plummeted below the 40th percentile (See the list of poll reports) CNN reported a 37 to 58 percent approval rating, and The New York Times rather than evaluating the polls and discussing what his growing unpopularity can be attributed to, focuses how his visit to Texas, where he is typically “greeted at a campaign rally like a man whose public approval ratings are 73 percent, not 37 percent” is a strategic tactics he has implemented to bolster support for his party. The Times shows his visit is a desperate attempt to cast his administration in a positive light, hoping that the deafening applause surrounding him and overwhelmingly positive response he is receiving will indicate that contrary to poll results and what is being portrayed by the media, he is a popular, successful President ultimately aiding Republicans in their attempt to retain congressional majority.


Bloggers and the mainstream media seem to agree that the cause of the President’s low ratings is due to the war in Iraq; in fact the two have almost become synonymous. The Iraq war and the NY’s Time’s recent publication of the Intelligence’s evaluation and conclusion which stated that not only hasn’t the war in Iraq aided our fight in the war on terror but has exacerbated it has angered many. The war originally had received widespread support, a common occurrence in wartime when people tend to rally behind a president, but many now feel the war was a mistake to begin with, and some even feel “deceived.” Evidence of weapons of mass destruction was one of the major factors Bush cited as reason for declaring war on Iraq, but now we know this was based on poor inconclusive intelligence. In addition, many feel he consistently framed Iraq in context with 9/11, indirectly implying a link between the two when there was no evidence of a connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Keida, who orchestrated 9/11. Overall, people are dissatisfied with the rising death tolls of American soldiers, and the scores of civilians killed in terror attacks, while there being no exit strategy in sight. For many it rings familiar bells of Vietnam. Even Republicans in Congress are beginning to doubt him, and many openly voice their opinions against the war.

The Iraq war has had such a devastating effect upon the way the majority views his presidency that despite the economy’s record highs on Wall Street and the falling gasoline prices, support for the President continues to hover below the forty percentile.