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Bush Gets Negative Views for Handling the Hurricane

Bush Gets Negative Views for Handling the Hurricane

Fewer rate him as a strong and decisive leader

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Despite a generally negative evaluation of George W. Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina, Americans' more basic views of the president have changed little in recent weeks. Compared with the results of an Aug. 28-30 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll -- conducted as the hurricane hit parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama -- Bush's overall approval rating and his rating for handling specific issues have remained essentially the same. Views of Bush as a strong and decisive leader, typically one of his strengths, have slipped in the past few weeks.

Bush Approval Ratings


A majority of Americans, 54%, disapprove of the way Bush is handling the response to Hurricane Katrina, while 43% approve. As on most measures of the president, views divide along partisan lines -- 76% of Republicans approve, compared with just 15% of Democrats. Slightly more than one in three independents (36%) give Bush positive marks for his response to the crisis.

While that measure gives an overall assessment of Bush's response to the hurricane, the poll also asked the public to rate the job he did immediately after the hurricane hit, and in more recent days. Forty-four percent of Americans say the way he initially responded to the hurricane was good and 55% say it was poor. Reviews of his recent handling of the situation are more positive -- 58% say his response has been good and 40% say it has been poor. That general pattern of more negative initial ratings and more positive recent ratings is also found in the public's evaluations of how FEMA, Louisiana state and local officials, and the residents of New Orleans reacted.

Ratings of Initial and More Recent Response to Hurricane Katrina

2005 Sep 8-11

Initial
(% good)

Recent
(% good)

George W. Bush

44

58

The residents of New Orleans

39

59

State and local officials in Louisiana

38

57

FEMA/Federal government agencies responsible for handling emergencies

36

56

The fact that partisanship so heavily influences the ratings of Bush's overall response to the hurricane may explain the lack of change in other views of him. Forty-six percent of Americans approve and 51% disapprove of the job Bush is doing as president, according to the Sept. 8-11 poll. In the Aug. 28-30 poll, 45% of Americans approved. These approval ratings are among the lowest of Bush's presidency, and at least a majority of Americans have disapproved since late July. Bush's low point -- a 40% approval rating in an Aug. 22-25 poll -- was measured before the hurricane.

Bush's overall rating tends to be somewhat higher than most of his ratings for handling specific issues. Bush is rated more negatively on Iraq (40%), the economy (39%), and gas prices (22%). Bush earns his highest mark on how he has handled terrorism, as he has since Sept. 11, 2001. However, the current 52% approval rating on that issue is tied for the lowest of his presidency.

Ratings of George W. Bush on Issues

2005 Sep 8-11
(sorted by "approve")

%
Approve

%
Disapprove

Terrorism

52

45

Overall job approval

46

51

The response to Hurricane Katrina

43

54

The situation in Iraq

40

58

The economy

39

58

Gas prices

22

71

Aside from his response to Katrina, which was measured for the first time in this poll, Bush's issue ratings have basically not changed since the late August poll.

George W. Bush Issue Approval Ratings, late August and early September

Aug 28-30

Sep 8-11

%

%

Terrorism

53

52

The situation in Iraq

40

40

The economy

38

39

Gas prices

20

22

There has, however, been some evidence of post-hurricane change in the public's ratings of Bush's personal characteristics. Most notably, fewer Americans (52%) now say he is a strong and decisive leader than did so in the late August poll (60%). On the other hand, there has been a slight increase in Bush's ratings on the "cares about the needs of people like you" dimension, from 44% to 48%. Ratings of Bush as inspiring confidence have held steady.

Aug 28-30

Sep 8-11

%

%

Is a strong and decisive leader

60

52

Cares about the needs of people like you

44

48

Inspires confidence

47

46

The poll also asked about whether Bush displays good judgment in a crisis -- 47% say he does, 52% say he does not. There is no pre-hurricane reading on this measure for the president.

Most Americans disagree with the controversial assertion -- made by rapper Kanye West during a telethon for hurricane victims -- that Bush doesn't care about black people. In the poll, 62% of Americans say he does care, and 31% say he does not. However, black Americans see things differently -- just 21% of blacks believe Bush cares about them, while 72% say he does not.

Overall, just 14% of blacks approve of the job Bush is doing as president, roughly the same as the ratings blacks have given Bush over the first eight months of the year.

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,005 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Sept. 8-11, 2005. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects 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.

Results for the sample of 262 blacks, aged 18 and older, are based on interviews conducted Sept. 8-11, 2005, some of which were drawn from Gallup's Sept. 8-11 national sample and some of which were drawn from a special black oversample. The combined sample of blacks is weighted to be representative of U.S. blacks. For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±7 percentage points.

2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling -- [RANDOM ORDER]?

A. The economy


Approve

Dis-approve

No
opinion


Approve

Dis-approve

No
opinion

2005

%

%

%

2003

%

%

%

2005 Sep 8-11

39

58

3

2003 Jun 12-15

48

48

4

2003 May 5-7

53

44

3

2005 Aug 28-30

38

60

2

2003 Apr 14-16

49

45

6

2005 Jun 24-26

41

55

4

2003 Mar 29-30

49

47

4

2005 May 20-22 ^

40

58

2

2003 Mar 24-25

52

42

6

2005 Apr 29-May 1

43

53

4

2003 Mar 14-15

44

52

4

2005 Apr 1-2

41

55

4

2003 Feb 3-6

44

52

4

2005 Feb 25-27

48

49

3

2003 Jan 31-Feb 2

47

48

5

2005 Feb 4-6

50

47

3

2003 Jan 23-25

46

49

5

2005 Jan 7-9

50

48

2

2003 Jan 10-12

48

47

5

2004

2003 Jan 3-5

49

47

4

2004 Nov 7-10

47

51

2

2002

2004 Oct 14-16

46

51

3

2002 Dec 9-10

49

47

4

2004 Sep 24-26

49

48

3

2002 Nov 8-10

55

39

6

2004 Aug 9-11

46

51

3

2002 Oct 21-22

49

44

7

2004 Jun 21-23 ^

47

50

3

2002 Jul 26-28

52

43

5

2004 Jun 3-6

41

58

1

2002 Jul 5-8

58

36

6

2004 May 7-9 ^

41

56

3

2002 Jun 28-30

63

33

4

2004 May 2-4

41

56

3

2002 May 20-22

61

29

10

2004 Apr 16-18

46

52

2

2002 Apr 5-7 ^

60

33

7

2004 Mar 26-28

42

55

3

2002 Mar 22-24

65

29

6

2004 Feb 9-12

45

52

3

2002 Mar 1-3

64

31

5

2004 Jan 29-Feb 1

43

54

3

2002 Feb 4-6

66

30

4

2004 Jan 2-5

54

43

3

2002 Jan 25-27

64

30

6

2003

2001

2003 Dec 5-7

48

49

3

2001 Nov 2-4 ^

71

24

5

2003 Nov 3-5

47

50

3

2001 Oct 5-6

72

23

5

2003 Oct 6-8

42

55

3

2001 Jul 10-11

54

36

10

2003 Sep 8-10

45

53

2

2001 May 18-20

51

41

8

2003 Aug 25-26

45

52

3

2001 Apr 20-22 ^

55

38

7

2003 Jul 25-27

46

51

3

2001 Mar 9-11

55

32

13

2003 Jul 18-20

45

51

4

2001 Feb 1-4

53

27

20

2003 Jul 7-9

48

50

2

^Asked of half sample

B. The situation in Iraq

Approve

Disapprove

No opinion

%

%

%

2005 Sep 8-11

40

58

2

2005 Aug 28-30

40

59

1

2005 Jun 24-26

40

58

2

2005 May 20-22 ^

40

56

4

2005 Apr 29-May 1

42

55

3

2005 Apr 1-2

43

54

3

2005 Feb 25-27

45

53

2

2005 Feb 4-6

50

48

2

2005 Jan 7-9

42

56

2

2004 Nov 7-10

47

51

2

2004 Oct 14-16

46

52

2

2004 Sep 24-26

48

49

3

2004 Aug 9-11

45

52

3

2004 Jun 21-23 ^

42

56

2

2004 Jun 3-6

41

57

2

2004 May 7-9 ^

41

58

1

2004 May 2-4

42

55

3

2004 Apr 16-18

48

49

3

2004 Mar 26-28

51

47

2

2004 Jan 29-Feb 1

46

53

1

2004 Jan 2-5

61

36

3

2003 Dec 5-7

50

47

3

2003 Nov 3-5

45

54

1

2003 Oct 6-8

47

50

3

2003 Sep 8-10

51

47

2

2003 Aug 25-26

57

41

2

2003 Jul 25-27

60

38

2

2003 Jul 18-20

57

39

4

2003 Jul 7-9

58

39

3

2003 Jun 12-15

63

34

3

2003 Apr 14-16

76

21

3

2003 Mar 29-30

71

27

2

2003 Mar 24-25

71

26

3

2003 Mar 14-15

56

41

3

2003 Jan 31-Feb 2

54

42

4

2003 Jan 3-5

55

40

5

2002 Dec 9-10

55

39

6

2002 Oct 21-22

52

40

8

^Asked of half sample

C. Terrorism

Approve

Disapprove

No
opinion

%

%

%

2005 Sep 8-11

52

45

3

2005 Aug 28-30

53

44

3

2005 Jun 24-26

55

41

4

2005 May 20-22 ^

55

40

5

2005 Apr 1-2

57

40

3

2005 Feb 25-27

60

37

3

2005 Feb 7-10

55

42

3

2005 Jan 7-9

58

39

3

2004 Nov 7-10

60

37

3

2004 Oct 14-16

57

41

2

2004 Sep 24-26

62

36

2

2004 Aug 9-11

57

40

3

2004 Jun 21-23 ^

54

44

2

2004 Jun 3-6

56

43

1

2004 May 7-9 ^

54

43

3

2004 May 2-4

52

45

3

2004 Apr 16-18

60

39

1

2004 Mar 26-28

58

39

3

2003 Dec 5-7

65

33

2

2003 Sep 8-10

64

34

2

2003 Aug 25-26

66

31

3

2003 Jan 31-Feb 2

71

26

3

2002 May 20-22 ^

83

13

4

2002 Apr 5-7 ^

83

13

4

2002 Mar 20-22 †

86

12

2

2001 Nov 2-4 †

86

12

2

^Asked of a half sample

†WORDING: U.S. military action abroad to fight terrorism.

‡Alternate wording asked in Nov. 2-4 and March 20-22 poll produced similar results; data presented are the average of two wordings: "efforts to prevent future acts of terrorism in the U.S." and "U.S. military action abroad to fight terrorism."

D. Gas prices

Approve

Disapprove

No opinion

%

%

%

2005 Sep 8-11

22

71

7

2005 Aug 28-30 ^

20

76

4

2005 Apr 29-May 1 ^

27

67

6

^Asked of half sample

E. The response to Hurricane Katrina

Approve

Disapprove

No opinion

2005 Sep 8-11

43%

54

3

3. Thinking about the following characteristics and qualities, please say whether you think it applies or doesn't apply to George W. Bush. How about -- [ROTATED]?

A. Displays good judgment in a crisis

Applies

Doesn't apply

No opinion

2005 Sep 8-11

47%

52

1

B. Is a strong and decisive leader

Applies

Doesn't apply

No opinion

%

%

%

2005 Sep 8-11

52

47

1

2005 Aug 28-30

60

40

*

2005 Jul 22-24

62

37

1

2005 Jan 14-16 ^

61

37

2

2004 Feb 16-17

65

33

2

2003 Nov 14-16

66

34

*

2003 Jun 27-29

75

24

1

2003 Apr 5-6

80

19

1

2003 Jan 10-12 ^

76

23

1

2002 Jul 26-28

70

27

3

2002 Apr 29-May 1

77

21

2

2001 Oct 5-6

75

23

2

2001 Aug 10-12

55

43

2

2001 Jul 10-11

57

40

3

2001 Apr 20-22

60

37

3

2001 Feb 9-11

61

34

5

2000 Mar 10-12

63

30

7

2000 Feb 25-27

61

32

7

2000 Feb 20-21

58

33

9

2000 Feb 4-6

62

30

8

2000 Jan 17-19

66

24

10

1999 Mar 4

60

14

26

^Asked of a half sample

C. Cares about the needs of people like you

Applies

Doesn't apply

No opinion

%

%

%

2005 Sep 8-11

48

51

1

2005 Aug 28-30

44

55

1

2005 Apr 1-2

53

46

1

2005 Jan 14-16 ^

45

53

2

2003 Nov 14-16

49

50

1

2003 Jun 27-29

57

42

1

2003 Apr 5-6

65

34

1

2003 Jan 10-12 ^

56

41

3

2002 Nov 8-10

60

38

2

2002 Jul 26-28

60

36

4

2002 Apr 29-May 1

66

31

3

2001 Oct 5-6

69

29

2

2001 Jul 10-11

57

40

3

2001 Apr 20-22

59

39

2

2001 Feb 9-11

56

39

5

2000 Mar 10-12

51

42

7

2000 Jan 17-19

56

33

11

1999 Sep 10-14

59

32

9

1999 Mar 12-14

59

32

9

^Asked of a half sample

D. Inspires confidence

Applies

Doesn't apply

No opinion

%

%

%

2005 Sep 8-11

46

53

1

2005 Aug 28-30

47

52

1

2005 Jan 14-16 ^

50

49

1

2003 Apr 5-6

70

27

3

2003 Jan 10-12 ^

65

34

1

2002 Jul 26-28

66

31

3

2001 Oct 5-6

75

24

1

2001 Apr 20-22

55

42

3

2001 Feb 9-11

57

39

4

2000 Mar 10-12

56

37

7

2000 Jan 17-19

60

29

11

^Asked of a half sample

9. Do you think George W. Bush does -- or does not -- care about black people?

Yes, does

No, does not

No opinion

2005 Sep 8-11

62%

31

7


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