Bush Is Your Soft Drink

GEORGE W. BUSH’S sagging approval ratings have been accompanied, not coincidentally, by an increasing amount of criticism from his allies in Congress. But while some Republicans have decided that it’s time to declare independence from the White House, other party strategists have a warning: If Bush sinks too deep into lame-duck territory now, we will see a large flock of GOPdead ducks in the upcoming election season.

Bush’s poll numbers are undeniably poor. In a mid-March Pew Research Center survey, only 33 percent of respondents approved of the president’s job performance, down from 50 percent a year ago. Bush’s ratings on the handling of specific issues have also declined significantly, with only 42 percent now approving of the way Bush is handling the threat of terrorism. That’s down 11 percent from mid-February. The poll also reports that negative descriptions of the president now outnumber positive ones, with “incompetent” topping the list at 29 percent, and “honest” slipping to 14 percent. Even more alarmingly, much of the erosion of Bush’s support has come from his political base. In the last year, his approval among conservative Republicans has dropped by 16 points. Among people who voted for him in 2004, it has fallen by 24 points.

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Kate O'Beirne

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GEORGE W. BUSH’S sagging approval ratings have been accompanied, not coincidentally, by an increasing amount of criticism from his allies in Congress. But while some Republicans have decided that it’s time to declare independence from the White House, other party strategists have a warning: If Bush sinks too deep into lame-duck territory now, we will see a large flock of GOPdead ducks in the upcoming election season.

Bush’s poll numbers are undeniably poor. In a mid-March Pew Research Center survey, only 33 percent of respondents approved of the president’s job performance, down from 50 percent a year ago. Bush’s ratings on the handling of specific issues have also declined significantly, with only 42 percent now approving of the way Bush is handling the threat of terrorism. That’s down 11 percent from mid-February. The poll also reports that negative descriptions of the president now outnumber positive ones, with “incompetent” topping the list at 29 percent, and “honest” slipping to 14 percent. Even more alarmingly, much of the erosion of Bush’s support has come from his political base. In the last year, his approval among conservative Republicans has dropped by 16 points. Among people who voted for him in 2004, it has fallen by 24 points.