Bush ratings continue to fall

President Bush received the highest disapproval rating of his presidency earlier this month, with 58 percent of respondents saying they don't approve of the way he is handling his job.

According to a USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll, conducted from Sept. 16 to Sept. 18, Bush's disapproval rating moved 2 points above the previous August high of 56 percent.

Casey Dominguez, professor of political science at the University of San Diego, said the public is reacting to both Bush's handling of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and the ongoing war in Iraq.

"Forty percent is real low, historically speaking," she said, adding that Bush's numbers could rise if attention shifts to new issues.

But opponents of the administration's Iraq policy are working to keep that issue front and center.

At least 100,000 anti-war protestors gathered in Washington, D.C., on Saturday to voice their opposition to the Iraq war.

William Leuchtenburg, professor emeritus of history at UNC, said the Washington protest probably will not have a lasting effect on public opinion or approval ratings, unless it causes additional demonstrations. "It is important only if it is a harbinger of more and larger protests to come."

The protest in Washington might have at least some constraining effect on the White House, said Michael Hunt, professor of history at UNC.

Though public demonstrations against the Iraq war have not approached the scale of those during Vietnam, they still serve as a reminder to political leaders, he said.

Many prominent Democratic politicians have made comparisons between the ongoing conflict in Iraq and the Vietnam War, often referring to the situation in Iraq as a "quagmire."

President Johnson's approval rating in 1968 slipped below 40 percent, while Bush's lowest approval rating yet recorded in the Gallup Poll is 40 percent.

Leuchtenburg said the similarity to the situation in Vietnam lies in the fact that, in both cases, the president lost control of the war, at least in the public's perception, and offered no clear vision for bringing the conflict to an end.

Johnson's presidency essentially was ruined by the Vietnam conflict, Hunt said. Johnson eventually chose not to seek a second term in office.

Approval ratings might be less of a concern for Bush, already in his second term, but could limit his ability to push his political priorities, Dominguez said.

The fact that there is no draft for the current Iraq conflict also could mitigate political consequences for Bush, Leuchtenburg said.

The Vietnam draft meant that the middle and upper classes, including students, were much more affected, he noted. That probably prompted a greater willingness to take action against the conflict.

 

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.