EmailWith the president’s closing news conference an hour away, here’s a quick summary of his highs and lows in public approval.
There were more of the latter; as I reported in a retrospective last week, Bush never once attained majority approval in his second term, a record in presidential approval polls dating to 1938. The full piece is here and a chart pack is here, but if you’re rushing into the Brady Room, here’s the crib sheet:
- Highest approval rating in presidential approval polling since 1938, 92 percent, Oct. 9, 2001.
- Highest disapproval in polls since 1938, 73 percent, Oct. 11, 2008.
- Biggest range in approval, 69 points, from high of 92 percent Oct. 9, 2001, to low of 23 percent Oct. 11, 2008.
- Longest stretch without majority approval, 48 months, January 2005 to present.
- Lowest full second-term average approval, 37 percent.
- Biggest gap between first- and second-term average approval ratings, 27 points, from 64 percent first-term average to 37 percent second-term average.