Gallup shows Bush at 34 / 63, for an overall net of -29. A net disapproval of -29 puts him only 2 points behind the all-time worst of Bush Sr. and Carter, who both cratered at -31. However, I want to emphasize the importance of a 63% disapproval number, because it is the third highest rating for a President in the long history of the Gallup poll. Both Carter and Bush Sr. never went past 60%. Only Truman, at 65%, and Nixon, at 66%, ever surpassed a 63% disapproval rating according to Gallup.

However, a difference of only 3% in a telephone survey of around 1000 people is not statistically significant. While his net approval keeps him in the Carter -- Bush I range, right now no President, at any point in his presidency, has had a greater percentage of the nation disapproving of the job he is doing. Not even Nixon during the height of the Watergate scandal. In fact, on July 15th, 1974, Gallup also put Nixon at 63% disapproval.

Some other questions in the poll are also interesting. Democrats lead the generic ballot 54-39. The democratic Party has a favorability rating of 48-45, while the Republican Party has a favorability rating of 36-58, a twenty-five point net edge for Democrats. Further, 50% of Democrats and Democratic leaners say they are "more enthusiastic" to vote than usual, compared to 37% who indicate they are "less enthusiastic." That compares quite well to a poor 38-46 enthusiastic / not enthusiastic rating among Democrats and Democratic leaners just before the 2002 elections, and also to a poor 38-46 rating among Republicans and Republican leaners right now. That indicates that Democrats may be more energized to vote than Republicans, but as many people have pointed out the only poll that counts are actual elections. Thus, we will have to wait until June 6th to know for certain if we are indeed more energized, since that is the first general election of 2006.