Outgoing US president George W Bush has earned for himself the distinction of being the first country-head with both the highest and lowest approval ratings.
Outgoing US president George W Bush has earned for himself the distinction of being the first country-head with both the highest and lowest approval ratings.
While the highest, 90 per cent, were recorded shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, his disapproval ratings, which have been attributed mainly to his mishandling of the economy and the war in Iraq, show no signs of softening as he prepares to retire and hand over rein of power to Barack Obama, the Times said.
A latest New York/CBS News poll done just days before he leaves the White House shows that only 22 per cent of the respondents approved of his performance as the president while a whopping 73 per cent disapproved of his performance.
When asked to assess his presidency more precisely, just 17 per cent of those surveyed rated it very good or good.
In the survey, the public's assessment of the Bush's handling of both the economy and the war in Iraq was markedly negative. While 77 per cent disapproved of president's management of the economy, 71 per cent faulted his handling of the war.
The recent poll results match with the one taken last fall which was lowest of his presidency.
Disapproval, the poll shows, cut across party lines, with Democrats, independents and even 34 per cent of Republicans being critical of Bush's performance.
However, the campaign against terrorism is one area in which Bush continues to win a measure of support from the public, with 47 per cent approving of his handling of the issue and 48 per cent disapproving.
Republicans were particularly supportive of him on the subject of terrorism with a huge 87 per cent approving of his administration's actions to fight against terrorism.
Still, not only do Americans disapprove of the overall job Bush has done, but record numbers also have an unfavorable opinion of him personally. Six in 10 of those surveyed said they viewed him negatively, while about one-quarter viewed him
favorably.
Americans' historically negative assessment of the administration, the Times said, is not limited to the president. Even vice president Dick Cheney's favourability rating in the new poll is 13 per cent, the lowest of his time in office.
As per the surveys, which began with Gallup polling in the administration of Franklin D Roosevelt, Clinton's presidency was regarded as very good or good by 59 per cent of Americans when he vacated office and 40 per cent viewed the presidency of the elder Bush the same way.
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