Public perception of George W. Bush

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CBS News/New York Times Bush public opinion polling from February 2001 to October 2006. Blue denotes "approve", red "disapprove", and gray "unsure". Large increases in approval followed the September 11 attacks and the beginning of the 2003 Iraq conflict.

George W. Bush, the President of the United States of America, has been perceived in interesting ways by the public, both at home and abroad. Time magazine named George W. Bush as its Person of the Year for 2000^[1] and 2004,^[2] hailing him as the most influential person during these two years. Bush began his presidency with approval ratings near 50%.^[3] In the time of national crisis following the September 11 attacks, Bush enjoyed approval ratings of greater than 85%, maintaining 80–90% approval for four months after the attacks. Since then, his approval ratings and approval of handling of domestic and foreign policy issues have steadily dropped. Polls conducted in early 2006 showed an average of around 40% for Bush, up slightly from the previous September, but still historically low from a President coming off of his State of the Union Address, which generally provides a boost. As of November 5, 2006, an average of major polls indicated that Bush's approval rating stood at 39.0%.^[4]

At the beginning of his first term, Bush was regarded by some as lacking legitimacy due to his narrow victory in Florida and the attendant controversy surrounding his electoral college victory, which included accusations of vote suppression and tampering. Bush has also been accused of squandering opportunities for uniting Americans across party lines. While routinely criticized by Democrats, Bush has also divided Republicans, American celebrities, and sports and media personalities, many of whom have engaged in heated criticism of Bush. Activist and filmmaker Michael Moore's 2004 movie Fahrenheit 9/11 accused Bush of using public sentiments following 9/11 for political purposes and lying about the cause for war in Iraq. Bush has also been subject to criticism in the international community: he has been targeted by the global anti-war and anti-globalization campaigns, and criticized for his foreign policy. Bush's policies were also the subject of heated criticism in the 2002 elections in Germany^[5] and the 2006 elections in Canada.^[6] Bush has been openly condemned by centrist, liberal and leftist politicians such as Gerhard Schröder, Jean Chrétien, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Romano Prodi, Paul Martin, and Hugo Chavez. Diplomatic visits made by Bush have been characterized by protests, sometimes of a significant scale.

George W. Bush answering a reporter’s question during a joint press availability with Prime Minister Tony Blair in the East Room of the White House, July 28, 2006. White House photo by Paul Morse

Bush has enjoyed strong support among Republicans and Americans holding conservative and pro-military views, and for the 2004 elections, 95-98% of the Republican electorate approved of and voted for Bush, a figure exceeding the approval of Ronald Reagan. This support has waned, however, due mostly to Republicans' growing frustration with Bush on the issues of spending and illegal immigration. Some Republicans have even begun criticizing Bush on his policies in Iraq, Iran and the Palestinian territories.^[7] Bush has also enjoyed strong personal and working relationships with foreign leaders such as Tony Blair, John Howard, Junichiro Koizumi, Angela Merkel, Stephen Harper, and Ehud Olmert, as well as good rapport with Vladimir Putin and Vicente Fox. Here, tensions have arisen, such as the cooling of the relationship between Bush and Putin.^[8] Privately, Bush has expressed regret at the effusiveness he displayed after his first meeting with Putin. "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy...I was able to get a sense of his soul."^[8]

From time to time, Bush's intellectual capacities have been questioned by the media^[9] and other politicians^[10] leading to speculation about his IQ, of which no official record is known.^[11]

Detractors tend to cite the various linguistic errors made by Bush during his public speeches (colloquially known as Bushisms).^[12] Bush's habit of mispronouncing words has received much ridicule in the media and in popular culture. Even as early as the 2000 presidential debates, this was the subject of a Saturday Night Live sketch (see Strategery).^[13] Perhaps his most famous mispronunciation is that of "nucular" instead of "nuclear". It should be noted, however, that he is not the only American president to have done this, and that Merriam-Webster Online considers this an acceptable pronunciation (though adding a footnote defending its inclusion).^[14]

A mural of President Bush in West Belfast, Northern Ireland, depicting the local population's perception of his foreign policy and relationship with the British government.

In 18 of 21 countries surveyed around the world, a majority of respondents were found to hold an unfavorable opinion of Bush. Respondents indicated that they judged his administration as "negative" for world security.^[15]^[16] A poll taken in mid September of 2006 indicated that 48 percent of Americans believed the war with Iraq has made the U.S. less safe, while 41 percent believed the war has made the U.S. safer from terrorism.^[17] Another poll shows that a majority of Americans, by a margin of 61 to 35 percent, believe that the United States is not better off because of Bush's policies.^[18] Another poll conducted in Britain placed Bush at the second biggest "threat to the world peace" right after Bin Laden, and topped North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il.^[19] According to poll taken in November of 2006, Finns just as British believe that Bush is second biggest "threat to the world peace" right after Bin Laden. Kim Jong-Il came 3rd in poll and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Nasrallah share 4th position.^[20]

Some people, such as Benjamin Ferencz, a chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials, hold the view that Bush should be tried for war crimes along with Saddam Hussein for starting "aggressive" wars. They argue that the US-led invasion was a war of aggression, and therefore under the Nuremberg Principles it constitutes the supreme international crime from which all other war crimes follow.^[21]

Other experts have also regarded the Bush Administration's decision to invade Iraq as the supreme international crime, a crime against the peace: "There was no authorization from the U.N. Security Council ... and that made it a crime against the peace," said Francis Boyle, professor of international law, who also said the U.S. Army's field manual required such authorization for an offensive war. However, historians point out that every permanent member of the U.N. Security Council has undertaken at least one war without the council's permission or endorsement, and no such authorization came from the U.N. in other U.S. led wars and/or interventions such as Vietnam, Haiti, Kosovo, Panama or Grenada, or for that matter President Jimmy Carter's attempt to rescue American hostages during the Iran Hostage Crisis.^[22]^[23]

1 Domestic
- 1.1 December 2005 Rasmussen poll on Iraq
- 1.2 October 2006 Newsweek poll on impeachment
2 Global Criticism of Bush
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Domestic

Bush approval rating from February 2001 to August 2006. Notable spikes in his approval rating followed the September 11, 2001 attacks, and the beginning of the 2003 Iraq conflict.

Bush began his presidency with approval ratings near 50%.^[3] Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Bush held approval ratings of greater than 85%, among the highest for any President. Since then, his approval ratings and approval of his handling of domestic, economic, and foreign policy issues have steadily declined. ^[24].

In 2002, Bush had the highest approval rating of any president during a midterm congressional election since Dwight Eisenhower. In an unusual deviation from the historical trend of midterm elections, the Republican Party regained control of the Senate and added to its majority in the House of Representatives. Typically, the President's party loses congressional seats in the midterm elections; 2002 marked only the third midterm election since the Civil War that the party in control of the White House gained seats in both houses of Congress (others were 1902 and 1934).

In 2003, Bush's approval spiked upward at the time of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in February. The upward trend continued through the invasion of Iraq in March. By late 2003, when presidential opponents began their campaigns in earnest, his approval numbers were in the low to middle 50s. Most polls tied the decline to growing concern over the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq and a slow recovery from the 2001 recession. Polls of May 2004 showed anywhere from a 53% ^[25] to a 46 % approval rating. ^[26]

Polls conducted in early 2006 showed an average of around 40% for Bush, relatively low for a president coming off of his State of the Union Address, which generally provides a boost.

In April 2006, the president's approval in the polls continued the trend. Four states continue to maintain a positive approval rating: Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Nebraska. His disapproval rating in traditionally red states had risen, with higher than 60% of voters disapproving in Ohio, Florida, Arkansas, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Virginia, Missouri and Iowa. Even in his conservative-spun homestate of Texas, disapproval reached 51 percent. His disapproval rating in several American states had reached an all time high, with more than 70% disapproving in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Delaware, Vermont and New York. His highest approval rating stood at 55% in Utah, and his lowest, 24%, in Rhode Island.^[27]

In July 10, 2006, an average of major polls indicated that Bush's approval rating stood at 39.4%.^[28]

In polls conducted between August 7 and August 16, 2006, Bush's average approval rating was 37.0%, and his average disapproval rating was 57.3%.^[29]

[edit] December 2005 Rasmussen poll on Iraq

A poll by Rasmussen Reports on 10 December 2005 asked, "Should President Bush be impeached and removed from office?" 32% said "yes," and 58% said "no."^[30] Earlier polls asked conditional versions of the impeachment question. For example, Zogby International on November 2, 2005 asked whether respondents agreed with the statement, "If President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should consider holding him accountable through impeachment." Americans agreed with this, 53% to 42%. ^[31]

[edit] October 2006 Newsweek poll on impeachment

A poll by Newsweek on 19 October 2006 revealed that 51% of respondents believed that the impeachment of George W. Bush should be a priority. ^[32] This poll drew the ironic jab of political commentators, with comparisons to Bush referring to his 2004 election margin of 51% as a mandate.^[33]

[edit] Global Criticism of Bush

Former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder and President Bush, 2001

Coverage of Bush's re-election in 2004 by the British Daily Mirror. The Mirror has carried a number of front pages hostile to G.W. Bush, as have other European newspapers and magazines.

President Bush and French President Jacques Chirac during the 27th G8 summit, July 21, 2001.

Opinions of Bush from outside the U.S. are generally less favorable. For example, a global sampling of 21 nations found that 58% of those sampled believed that George Bush's re-election would have a negative impact on their peace and security. Only 26% believed it would have a positive one.^[34]

[edit] In specific countries

The U.K. Daily Mirror newspaper ran the following headline the day of Bush's reelection: “How Can 59,054,087 People Be So Dumb?”, underlining Bush's unpopularity in the British press. Among the population of Britain, two-thirds of the population holds a dim view of Bush, a figure that is duplicated in Canada. Bush fares slightly better in Mexico and Italy, where just over half of the population has a negative view, but much worse in other countries. “Three-quarters of those in Spain and more than 80% in France and Germany had a negative view of Mr. Bush's role in world affairs."^[35] In Turkey, 72% of those polled said that George Bush's re-election made them “feel worse about Americans".^[34] In November 2006, a survey taken in Britain, Mexico, and Canada showed that they believe Bush is more dangerous than the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, and the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. ^[36]

[edit] Islamic world

In Islamic countries, opinion of Bush is even less favorable. In these countries, Bush's unfavorable ratings are particularly high, often over 90%.^[37] In Jordan, for example, Bush’s favorable rating is only nine percent.^[38] However Bush’s low ratings in the Islamic world occur against a broader backdrop of poor relations between Westerners and Muslims.^[39]

[edit] Favorable opinion

Bush enjoys somewhat more favorable views among the populations of some allied states, though they are usually a minority of the countries polled. In one multi-nation poll after Bush’s 2004 re-election, India and the Philippines were the only countries (out of 21 that were polled) where a majority (about 60%) saw his return to office as positive for peace and security in the world.^[34] In one poll of ten countries, Israel was the only country where the population had a net favorable opinion, with 62 percent favoring Bush.^[38] Supportive American foreign policy towards Israel is probably part of the reason for Bush’s high polling there.