Sequentially hammered by the Iraq war, the bungled response to Hurricane Katrina, soaring gasoline prices and, as the coup de grace, the current economic crisis, Bush endured his second term without once attaining majority public approval – a feat unseen in 70 years of presidential approval polls. Full Story »
Posted by Walter Cox
The report puts a lot of minor statistics on popular approval out for consideration. The story does not look deeply at the causes for the popularity numbers. ABC news is a culprit for the high ratings in his first term by eagerly and uncritically cheering on the illegal and immoral war. Much of the unpopularity arose when the public became informed by independent media that the Bush propaganda and ABC's echo of it were lies. And ABC was not as bad as FOX (damning with faint praise), where FOX can be tied to the continuation of Bush's high ratings among disinformed Republicans who tend to watch Fox.
I partially agree with W that a president should not be judged upon his popularity. There are more damning bases up on which to judge him. His war crimes and treason should have led to impeachment, full disclosure, and removing Bush and Cheney from office.
An in-depth analysis of Bush's approval ratings, as reported by Gary Langer, head of polling for ABC News. Langer takes the data and compares it to similar data for previous presidents, offering excellent context and historical perspective.
I'm not a "numbers" person; nevertheless I found this exhaustive treatment of the subject compelling. Langer clearly knows his stuff.
This was a good look at Bush's legacy through the lens of his approval rating numbers. Great comparative information and useful analysis.
Retrieving Comments
