Feb. 28, 2006, 9:50PM
Bush approval rating nearing Nixon's levels
By WILLIAM DOUGLAS
Knight Ridder Tribune News
WASHINGTON - President Bush's job-approval rating fell to an all-time
low — 34 percent — in a poll published Tuesday. That puts him not far
above Richard Nixon's Watergate-era nadir and raises questions about
how effectively he can govern in his remaining years in office.
The poll, conducted by CBS News between last Wednesday and Saturday,
found that 59 percent of U.S. adults disapproved of Bush's job
performance. His 34 percent approval rating was the lowest since he
took office in 2001, eight points lower than in January.
The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
A toxic mix of messes has dragged Bush down, including his handling of
Hurricane Katrina, the Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination,
violence in Iraq, and the port deal with a state-owned Arab company.
Bush's approval rating is far below those of three of the last four
two-term presidents in February of their sixth year:
• Dwight Eisenhower (64 percent);
• Ronald Reagan (63.50 percent); and
• Bill Clinton (57 percent).
Only Nixon, at 27.5 percent in February 1974 — six months before he
resigned — was less popular than Bush is now.
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