ARG: Bush's Job Approval Rating Continues to Slip From Post-war High

George W. Bush's overall job approval rating continues to slip from its post-war high in May according to the latest survey by the American Research Group. Among all Americans, 54% say they approve of the way Bush is handling his job and 39% disapprove. In May, 68% of Americans approved of the way Bush was handling his job and 24% disapproved. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 46% of Americans say they approve and 47% say they disapprove. In May, 56% of Americans approved of the way Bush was handling the economy and 32% disapproved.

Among Americans registered to vote, 53% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 42% disapprove. As for Bush's handling of the economy, 44% of registered voters approve and 48% disapprove.

When it comes to the economy, 42% of Americans rate the national economy as very good or good and 52% rate the national economy as bad, very bad, or terrible. A total of 40% of Americans say the national economy is getting worse, up from 25% in May.

More: http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy/

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you can really see the trend.

As Chimpy's poll numbers continue a slow but steady slide downward, is there any chance he could get another "spike" in ratings, like the way he did after 9/11 and the start of the Iraq occupation?

My best guess is that, unless he produces the bodies of Saddam or Osama, it's highly unlikely his numbers will ever rise substantially higher than they are right now

The public has already given him two "rally `round the flag" rating boosts, but the second one was considerably smaller than the first. If Chimpy tries for a third time, e.g., by invading Iran to destroy WMDs, I think the public will grow tired of having their patriotism chain yanked yet again -- if not tired of yet another Bush War.

For that reason, along with the unlikelihood of him finding Osama or Saddam, or for that matter fixing the economy, I tend to believe that Chimpy's current approval ratings are about as high as they're going to get for the rest of his term.

And if they continue to sink low enough -- e.g., as low as his father's did in 1992, there'd be no way to account for a Bush election win through GOP manipulation of voting machines.

i would agree with you. but this is not a normal administration. do not be surprised if another LIHOP occurs to goose shrub's rating back up.

After all that we have given up in the name of "Homeland" security another 9-11 could work against shrub in a major way. As a country, we have given him carte blanche to do whatever is necessary to prevent another major terrorist attack. If he fails now, he has no excuse.

Approval spikes will get smaller and smaller as chimpy manufactures addtional events. And the penalty of these events (a lower approval rating after the spike wears off than if there was no spike in the first place) will still be there. Without any spikes, the performance of the economy (and the drag of violence in Iraq and Afghanistan) will result in chimpy losing in '04.

My guess is that the chimp's actions will soon be based on his/Rove's plan that he cannot win in '04, and they're going to try to get/take all they can while the taking is good.

Their final option is a war or attack a few weeks before the election. If polls look good, then they won't cancel elections.