…And now he has no choice but to re-engage “Bush’s war,” too, thanks to his administration’s abject failure to carry out his own stated Iraq policy. Unpopularity is perhaps the only thing Obama can’t claim to have inherited from his predecessor. No, he’s earned this all by himself (via Dan Doherty).

In January 2009, as President George W. Bush was days away from leaving the White House, the unpopular President’s favorable rating stood at 35% in a CNN/ORC International survey. The man who was succeeding him, Barack Obama, was fresh from his historic 2008 presidential election victory and had a 78% favorable rating among Americans. But a new CNN/ORC International pollreleased Thursday indicates a milestone of sorts: Obama is now as unpopular as Bush. Fifty-one percent have an unfavorable view of Bush; 51% feel the same way about Obama. Obama’s favorable rating is now at 47% – a new low for him, and virtually identical to Bush’s 46% favorable rating, a significant improvement over his 2009 numbers…”This marks the first time in a CNN poll that a majority of Americans have an unfavorable view of Obama,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “And, at 51%, his unfavorable his higher than his favorables for the first time as well.” As for Bush, his numbers have gradually edged up over the years since he left the White House, and is now on par with Obama.

The CNN survey also confirmed Gallup’s numbers on Hillary Clinton, which Ed wrote up yesterday:

Hillary Clinton’s favorable ratings have steadily dropped since she left the State Department, from 67% in March of 2013 to 59% last fall, 57% in March of this year, and now 55%…“Secretary of State is often seen as a non-political, non-partisan kind of job, and that showed in Clinton’s favorable ratings while she ran the State Department,” Holland said. “In 2011, her favorable rating was as high as 47% among Republicans. Now that she seems to be running for office again, her favorables among Republicans have plummeted to 18%.”

Meanwhile, a Fox News poll out this week shows continued sharp disapproval of President Obama’s signature domestic “accomplishment,” with a sizable majority expressing the opinion that they wish the 2010 healthcare law had never passed. (Some vulnerable Democrats may privately agree, based on their panicked reaction to voting on Obamacare-related amendments):

Bloomberg’s latest national survey reflects an electorate resigned to economic stagnation, at best. Just three in ten believe the overall economy is improving, with large majorities recognizing negative trends on the national debt and health costs:

The same poll showed that “fifty-eight percent of poll respondents they’re unhappy with Obama’s handling of the health-care issue.” On foreign affairs, respondents say the US is “in decline,” as opposed to “on the rise” by a six-to-one margin. Kudos, all around.