Gallup: Bush Approval Rating Lowest Ever for 2nd-Term Prez at this Point

I suspect that Rove et al could care less.

 

Isn't that really the goal of winning a second term? Do everything you wanted to accomplish during the first term but couldn't? I don't think anyone is liking anyone in the Government at the moment, our national average for a gallon of gas is $2.30 cents for pete's sake.

 

I love that the satisfaction level with our government is determined by gas prices. How fitting...

 

The gas prices are odd. Our reserves are near full capacity but we still buy oil to put into them. Why not freeze buying for the reserve or at least reduce it? That would dent the demand somewhat.

 

Why wouldn't it? Gas prices effect nearly every aspect of our economy. I'm sure the majority of people who have complaints about the government right now would bring up the gas prices rather then the war.

 

Depleting our reserves would put the fate of our oil in the hands of other countries. Our reserves give us the ability to still function if/when said oil countries stopped catering to us. It would give us time to dig for our own oil and still keep the country functioning. We have trillions in untapped reserves under our own soil that we can't touch because of environmentalists.

 

Oh I agree. That was my point.

It's --------- frustrating.

 

Svpernaut, don't you think that all those other Presidents had issues the public might have looked askance at, to put it mildly? Truman, for example, was written off and stunned everyone, even the Democrats, with his victory, because his negatives were perceived as so great that he had no chance. Yet Bush's approval rating is 11% points lower than the next lowest rating, Reagan (which surprised me), at this point in his second term. How can Republicans shrug and say, "So what? Big deal."

It is a stunning position for Bush to be in. Stunning. If I were a Republican Congressman, I'd be getting very, very nervous about the '06 elections.



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I take polls about as seriously as I took the 2004 election exit polls. All I know is I've gotten more job leads and interviews in the past 6 months then I have in the past 5+ years... which tells me that Americans are working again and intern I'm happy.

I think if they polled the people over the performance of the entire US Government that their numbers as a whole would be down when compared to past eras. I don't think the American people only have a problem with the President, I think it's the bureaucracy that they are frustrated with.

 

Because it's a poll.

That's what everyone was saying about the 04 election 2 years ago.

 

It should be noted that comparing today's leaders approval ratings with leaders 10+ years ago can be misleading. The American people are far more informed then they ever have been before, and the Clinton administration is the only one that even comes close to the amount of scrutiny Bush's administration has come under.

I think if more people would have had CNN/MSNBC/FOX/CBS/ABC and the countless other news channels and outlets that they would have had a different outlook on their administration. I don't think any Government official will ever have sky-rocketing approval ratings again because the world has changed, and taboo topics in the past are now open for debate.

We know more about our leaders now then we ever have, and that knowledge will only continue to grow because Americans have instant access to information outlets spanning the globe... and many of those outlets will make it their duty to give those leaders a black eye, because controversy sells.

 

You would think starting a war on falsified, uh I mean false (if that's any better), intelligence would make one a popularity magnet.

 

Our country has been at the mercy of oil producing countries for at least 4 decades or have you forgotten the oil embargo of the 1970's. The problem with every administration since then is the unwillingness to find cheaper and cleaner energy sources. And blaming enviromentalist's for not being able to get oil is about as lame an excuse as I've ever heard.

 

I disagree. I think Americans are less informed, and pay less attention to, the news than they ever have. All one has to do is look at the state network and cable news is in. The focus is all on the sensational, which is more like the pre-WWII newspaper coverage (excepting some fine rags), then the quality of news coverage I grew up expecting in the '50', '60's, and '70's. No offence, but I don't think you could be more wrong. The American people are in trouble, in large part because they put up with such lousy news coverage, no matter what the "slant" that coverage is.



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Yawn... Wake me up in four years when any of this matters...

 

Nah. You'll wake up in '06, Trader_J. You'll see.



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Heard that one before...

 

Yes, and you'll hear it again.



Keep D&D Civil!!

 

How can Republicans shrug and say, "So what? Big deal."

The Republicans own both the Congress and the White House. And they can win with crappy candidates and great marketing. And the Democrats have yet to find their way with the electorate.