Over the last few weeks, the Bush White House has used, aggressively, the one remaining tool in their political arsenal: the bully pulpit. Americans have seen Bush deliver relatively high-profile speeches on Iraq, repeating, mantra-like, the idea that we’re winning the war and the effort is worth the sacrifice.
There’s a certain segment of the electorate that’s going to be persuaded by this kind of pitch. People who maybe voted for Bush but have soured on him of late might see the president deliver a well-received speech before a friendly audience, hear his poll-tested sound bites, and start to think the president has improved his game. But how many people are we talking about? That depends on which pollster you believe.
According to CNN/USA Today/Gallup, the public relations offensive hasn’t changed the political dynamic at all.
President Bush’s approval ratings do not appear to have changed significantly, despite a number of recent speeches he’s given to shore up public support for the war in Iraq and its historic elections on Thursday.
A CNN/USA Today Gallup poll conducted over the weekend found his approval rating stood at 41 percent, while more than half, or 56 percent, disapprove of how the president is handling his job. A majority, or 52 percent, say it was a mistake to send troops to Iraq, and 61 percent say they disapprove of how he is handling Iraq specifically. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
On the other hand, the Post/ABC poll shows pretty sizable gains for Bush.
President Bush’s approval rating has surged in recent weeks, reversing what had been an extended period of decline, with Americans now expressing renewed optimism about the future of democracy in Iraq, the campaign against terrorism and the U.S. economy, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News Poll.
Bush’s overall approval rating rose to 47 percent, from 39 percent in early November, with 52 percent saying they disapprove of how he is handling his job. His approval rating on Iraq jumped 10 percentage points since early November, to 46 percent, while his rating on the economy rose 11 points, to 47 percent. A clear majority, 56 percent, said they approve of the way Bush is handling the fight against terrorism — a traditional strong point in his reputation that nonetheless had flagged to 48 percent in the November poll.
In all, over the last week, polls have been released showing Bush’s support somewhere between 41% and 50%. Who’s right? Your guess is as good as mine.