GALLUP
NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON
, NJ
-- According to a new Gallup Poll, conducted Oct. 4-7, 2007, President George W. Bush’s job approval rating from the American public is an anemic 32%. That is slightly below his previous reading of 36% from mid-September, but is identical to his average approval score for all Gallup Polls conducted thus far in the second half of the year. Nearly two out of three Americans currently disapprove of Bush’s job performance.
Public approval of the job Bush is doing averaged a slightly higher 35% in the first half of this year, peaking at 38% in April. His lowest score of the year thus far -- and also the lowest score of his presidency -- is 29%, and came in July.
Bush’s Conservative and Republican Base Giving Him Near Record-Low Support
President Bush continues to be rated approvingly by the two political groups that have traditionally formed his most supportive base: Republicans and Americans who define their political views as “conservative.” But the level of approval from each of these is currently at or near the lowest points seen since he became president.
The 67% of Republicans approving of Bush today is slightly below the average 71% Republican approval since July, and approaches his term low-point of 65% approval from Republicans three months ago. Support from Bush’s party is now significantly below where it stood at the beginning of the year (averaging 75% in January).
While Bush’s ratings from independents and Democrats have varied during the year, they are currently quite similar to where they have been since the start of July. Independents have averaged a 26% approval rating since July and are now at 27%. Democrats have averaged a 7% approval rating, exactly where they are in this latest poll. Both groups’ current approval ratings for Bush are very similar to what they were at the beginning of the year (29% and 8%, respectively).
Similarly, just 51% of self-described conservatives approve of Bush today, the lowest of his presidency from this group (although it was a statistically indistinguishable 52% at one point earlier this year). His current 51% is below his 56% average approval rating from conservatives since the start of July, and 62% average approval in January.
Other Demographic Ratings are Stable
Approval ratings of Bush by gender, age, and region are fairly similar to what they have been in recent months.
Similar to the past few months, the new poll shows Bush’s approval ratings are only slightly higher among men than among women. There are also fairly small differences by age, with young adults (18 to 29 years of age) being relatively less approving than those 30 and older.
As is typically the case, whites are more positive about Bush than is the much more Democratic-oriented nonwhite population (37% vs. 13%, respectively).
Throughout his presidency, Bush has typically received higher ratings in the South and Midwest than in the East and West, and that is seen in his average ratings since July. But in the current poll, only the South exhibits higher approval than the poll average, while the Midwest is similar to the East and West.
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Bush Approval
by Demographic Subgroup
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Oct. 4-7, 2007
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Average for
July-Oct. 2007
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%
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%
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Total
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32
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32
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|
|
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Men
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34
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36
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Women
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29
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29
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|
|
|
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White
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37
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36
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Nonwhite
|
13
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17
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|
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|
|
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18- to 29-year-olds
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21
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28
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30- to 49-year-olds
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36
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35
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50 years old or older
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32
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32
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|
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East
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29
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27
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Midwest
|
26
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31
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South
|
38
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38
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West
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30
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30
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Survey Methods
Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,010 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Oct. 4-7, 2007. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
