Bush hits lowest approval rating yet in ABC poll

President George W. Bush hit his lowest rating ever in an ABC/Washington Post poll released Tuesday, showing him for the first time below 33 percent approval.

"Just 32 percent of Americans now approve of the way Bush is handling his job, while 66 percent disapprove," the poll says. "Bush's work on the economy has likewise reached a new low. And he shows no gain on Iraq; despite reduced violence there, 64 percent say the war was not worth fighting, 2 points from its high."

The poll further shows that 77 percent of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track, topping a record high in early 1996, when Republican congressmen shut down the federal government in a dispute with Democrats over funding.

Bush's approval ratings have been consistent for the past nine ABC/Post polls, staying between 33 and 36 percent in 2007. While this new poll is not statistically significant, it represents Bush's first rating below the one-third mark.

Presidents Carter, Nixon, and Truman each endured a low water mark of approval lower than Bush's (at 28 percent, 24 percent, and 22 percent, respectively), but the length of Bush's slide, with three years below majority approval, has him approaching Truman's record of 38 months underneath the polls.

The depth of public sentiment, as well, weighs very heavily against Bush, with disapproval weighing in over approval at more than a 3-1 ratio. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed strongly disapprove of his presidency, while only 16 percent strongly approve.

The full poll can be read here.



