54 percent and falling

The Pew Research Center, well respected for its non-partisan research, has released new survey data reflecting Bush’s approval rating at an unimpressive 54 percent. As for the public’s support for the president’s economic policies, more Americans disapprove of Bush’s handling of the economy that approve (43 percent to 48 percent).

As the Center explained, “This marks the first time in Bush’s presidency a Pew survey has shown his economic rating in negative territory. His approval mark on tax policy is equally low (42%), despite a high-profile campaign on behalf of his tax plan.”

These results would appear to be consistent with several other recent polls that peg Bush’s approval rating in the mid-50s.

There’s good news and bad news here. The good news, at least for those of us who are hoping that Bush is a one-term president, is that his support is almost exactly where it was before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. To be sure, Bush’s ratings soared to historic heights in the last quarter of 2001, but he’s lost the goodwill and support he had built up. It’s still not unusual for reporters to refer to Bush’s “high approval ratings,” almost out of habit from the last year or so, but that’s obviously no longer true.

The bad news? His approval ratings are still too high for a president with such an awful record, and still relatively high when compared to Clinton’s and Reagan’s popularity when examined early in the third year of their first terms.