Gallup: Katrina Did Not Cause Bush's Decline in Polls

By: E&P Staff A report today by Frank Newport, director of the Gallup Poll organizations, disputes conventional wisdom that the Bush Administraton's response to last year's Hurricane Katrina disaster had a significant effect on his declining popularity.

Newport writes, "a close examination of the available Gallup Poll data suggests that while the public did disapprove of how Bush handled Katrina, and the public did downgrade their perception of Bush as a strong and decisive leader, it is difficult to pinpoint a precise and lasting impact of Hurricane Katrina on Bush's overall approval ratings."

He cites recent articles in The New York Times and Reuters linking Katrina to Bush's approval ratings slide, but then points out, "Bush's job approval ratings throughout September 2005 were identical to his ratings in August, and although the president's ratings fell in October and November, they had recovered by December of last year and January of this year. Bush's major slide in the ratings occurred in late February through May of this year, and there is little evidence to suggest that this was a result of his handling of Katrina."

But Newports adds: "While Katrina may not have had a long-lasting impact on Bush's overall job rating, there did appear to be an impact of Katrina on Bush's image as a 'strong and decisive leader.'"