Last week, the WaPo’s Chris Cillizza asked, “Will President George W. Bush get any kind of bump in the polls following his latest State of the Union address?” For the past two weeks, the White House and its allies have tried as hard as they can to manage expectations and dismiss any notion of a post-State of the Union bounce.
Matthew Dowd, the senior strategist for Bush’s reelection campaign and now senior adviser to the Republican National Committee, sent a memo to party leaders this week contending that the idea of a traditional “State of the Union bounce” is a myth.
Is it a myth? Well, it depends on how you look at the results. Historically, most presidents don’t gain too much from the annual speech. But more recently, Bill Clinton usually scored big with his SOTU addresses. In his seven addresses (the 1993 speech wasn’t considered a SOTU), Clinton’s approval rating went up five times, with an increase ranging from two points (in 1995) to 10 points (in 1998).
So, did Bush get a bump after last week’s speech? Not so much. First, there’s the Associated Press’ latest numbers.
President Bush’s marks on overall job approval and for handling the economy are mired near their lowest levels despite a spike in consumer confidence over the past month, an AP-Ipsos poll found.
Bush’s job approval is now at 40 percent and his approval on handling the economy at 39 percent. Those numbers haven’t budged over the last month even with the public’s confidence in the economy growing and the president delivering an upbeat State of the Union address. […]
The poll found low approval of Congress with 47 percent wanting Democrats to take control. Republican control was favored by 37 percent.
And then there’s the latest Gallup numbers.
President George W. Bush’s State of the Union address on Jan. 31 did little to move his overall job approval rating, according to a new Gallup Poll. […] The poll, conducted Feb. 6-9, 2006 finds that 42% of Americans approve and 55% disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job as president.
If the Bush gang was counting on the SOTU to help Bush get back on track with the public, they’re likely disappointed today.