Bush Quacks Like a Lame Duck
by Jonathan Singer, Fri Feb 17, 2006 at 01:43:45 PM EST
Now that the American people have had two weeks to digest George W. Bush's State of the Union address, polling indicates that the President's approval ratings are slumping -- the first time they have done so in months.
According to the Gallup poll commissioned by CNN and USA Today, President Bush's approval rating has dropped three points since earlier this month. The official number sits at 39 percent -- the first time since November that Bush has come in below 40 percent approval.
While this poll, in and of itself, might not mean much (Bush's drop is below the margin of error), the trend found in the most recent Gallup survey has been corroborated in polling from other organizations. The latest Harris poll commissioned by the Wall Street Journal shows the President at 40 percent, a three point drop from January. Today's Marist poll also finds President Bush's approval number to be 40 percent, even lower than it was in October following the botched response to Hurricane Katrina. Yet another poll, the one released yesterday by Survey USA, shows President Bush at a 40 percent approval rating, down a point over the last month.
As Chris has stated a number of times in recent months, the key number for President Bush is 43 percent approval. If he can inch up to a respectable number in the mid-forties, the outlook for the Republican Party in November will not be quite as bad; however, if President Bush lingers in the low forties or even the thirties, the GOP will have a very tough time holding both -- or either -- House of Congress.
President Bush's State of the Union address, which could have provided him an opportunity to move above 43 percent, must be deemed a failure. Unless there is a particularly large and effective human/animal hybrid lobby operating around the country, it appears that the American people simply have lost faith or interest in what George W. Bush has to say.
To me, it appears that all the American people are hearing out of the White House is quacking. And when the President sounds like a lame duck and starts acting like a lame duck (banning human/animal hybrids? c'mon), chances are he is a lame duck.
Tags: Approval Rating, George W. Bush, State of The Union (all tags)
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