Gallup: Bush's Approval Rating Hits Record Low of 31%, Disapproval at 65%

By: E&P Staff The latest USA Today/Gallup poll finds that President George W. Bush's job approval rating has slipped to a record low of 31%. His disapproval rating also reached a record high at 65%.

The poll of 1,013 adults found that Americans no longer believe the President to be an effective manager, and Bush's slipping numbers are increasingly being fueled by erosion of support among his conservative base. The poll found that 52% of conservatives and 68% of Republicans approved of the job Bush is doing. Both are record lows among those groups.

Moderates gave him an approval rating of 28%, liberals of 7%.

According to Gallup, only four presidents have scored lower approval ratings since the Gallup Poll began regularly measuring it in the mid-1940s: Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and the first George Bush. When Nixon, Carter and the elder Bush sank below 35%, they never again registered above 40%.