GOP Pollster: A Bad Year For Bush

December 22, 2005
GOP Pollster: A Bad Year For Bush

Republican pollster Steve Lombardo is blunt: the year for President Bush, he says, was a "failure."


Lombardo:

"There is really no other way to interpret this political year as anything other than a failure for the Bush administration. Politically, the President took a beating and his end of year numbers reflect that. While a few recent polls show some improvement -- taking the communications offensive on Iraq has helped team Bush stop the hemorrhaging -- the President finds himself with some of the worst 2nd term approval ratings in the last 30 years."

When you compare the approval ratings of the two most recent two-term Presidents - -- Clinton and Reagan -- we see how dismal Bush's numbers are. We took a look at the Gallup approval ratings of each President after their inaugural and at the end of their first year of the second term. In January of 1997 61% approved of Clinton's performance and 26% disapproved. By the end of the year he had an approval/disapproval rating 56/36 -- some decline but not significant. In January of 1985, 59% of Americans approved of Reagan's job performance and 31% disapproved. By the end of the year he actually improved his numbers to a job rating of 63/27. Bush started the year with 57% approval and 40% disapproval. According to the latest national poll by ABC News/Washington Post he has a rating of 47/52. That is a net change of 22%. Other surveys have shown his approval rating in the 35-39% range. While the President may have "bottomed-out" he clearly has still not regained the kind of electoral support necessary for his legislative agenda or his policies.

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2005/12/gop_pollster_a.html#more

:eyes: I hope that 2006 is even more of a failure for him than 2005.

when it comes to actually doing anything, the real numbers aren't there to back you up.

But, it turns out you can't actually govern by cheating. He's trying, but it's not working.

to see what a REALLY bad year for Bush looks like.

If he doesn't suffer a complete breakdown by July we aren't doing our job.