Republicans Give George W. Bush's Overall Job Approval Slig
March 20, 2008
Republicans Give George W. Bush's Overall Job Approval Slight Boost
As Concerns Over the Economy Intensify
Increased approval among Republicans has moved George W. Bush's overall job approval to 24% according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. Those disapproving of the way Bush is handling his job and the economy remain at or near record highs for American Research Group polling during Bush's tenure in office as 86% of Americans say the national economy is getting worse and 66% say the national economy is in a recession.
Among all Americans, 24% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 75% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 18% approve and 80% disapprove.
Among Americans registered to vote, 26% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 73% disapprove. When it comes to the way Bush is handling the economy, 19% of registered voters approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 78% disapprove.
In the February 2008 survey, 45% of Republicans approved of the way Bush was handling his job and 50% disapproved. In the latest survey, 72% of Republicans approve of the way Bush is handling his job and 26% disapprove. Bush did not receive the same turnaround among Republicans for his handling of the economy. In the February 2008 survey, 41% of Republicans approved of the way Bush was handling the economy and 54% disapproved. In the latest survey, 50% of Republicans approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 44% disapprove.
The results presented here are based on 1,100 completed telephone interviews conducted among a nationwide random sample of adults 18 years and older. The interviews were completed March 16 through 19, 2008. The theoretical margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.
Overall, 24% of Americans say that they approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president, 75% disapprove, and 1% are undecided.
Bush job approval Approve Disapprove Undecided
Mar 2008 24% 75% 1%
Feb 2008 19% 77% 4%
Jan 2008 34% 59% 7%
Dec 2007 32% 66% 2%
Nov 2007 31% 64% 5%
Oct 2007 25% 67% 8%
Sep 2007 34% 60% 6%
Aug 2007 28% 65% 7%
Jul 2007 25% 71% 4%
Jun 2007 27% 67% 6%
May 2007 31% 64% 5%
Apr 2007 33% 62% 5%
Among Republicans (30% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 72% approve of the way Bush is handling his job and 26% disapprove. Among Democrats (42% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 1% approve and 99% disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job. Among independents (28% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 14% approve and 85% disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job as president.
Overall, 18% of Americans say that they approve of the way George W. Bush is handling the economy, 80% disapprove, and 2% are undecided. Among registered voters, 15% approve and 79% disapprove of the way Bush is handling the economy.
Bush handling the economy Approve Disapprove Undecided
Mar 2008 18% 80% 2%
Feb 2008 14% 79% 7%
Jan 2008 29% 63% 8%
Dec 2007 28% 71% 1%
Nov 2007 32% 62% 6%
Oct 2007 23% 67% 10%
Sep 2007 33% 58% 9%
Aug 2007 29% 64% 7%
Jul 2007 23% 73% 4%
Jun 2007 29% 64% 7%
May 2007 31% 62% 7%
Apr 2007 33% 63% 4%
Mar 2007 32% 64% 4%
Among Republicans, 50% approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 44% disapprove. Among Democrats, 97% disapprove of the way Bush is handling the economy and 1% approve. Among independents, 14% approve and 85% disapprove of the way Bush is handling the economy.
A total of 4% of Americans say that the national economy is getting better, 9% say it is staying the same, and 86% say the national economy is getting worse.
National economy Getting better Staying the same Getting worse Undecided
Mar 2008 4% 9% 86% 1%
Feb 2008 1% 20% 78% 1%
Jan 2008 8% 22% 64% 6%
Dec 2007 7% 28% 64% 1%
Nov 2007 18% 26% 55% 1%
Oct 2007 8% 18% 69% 5%
Sep 2007 14% 20% 63% 3%
Aug 2007 8% 29% 59% 4%
Jul 2007 12% 28% 58% 2%
Jun 2007 16% 28% 55% 1%
May 2007 19% 24% 53% 4%
Apr 2007 23% 17% 59% 1%
Mar 2007 19% 29% 50% 2%
Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his job, 18% say getting better, 42% say staying the same, and 39% say getting worse. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job, none say getting better, 1% say staying the same, and 98% say getting worse.
A total of 48% of Americans say they believe the national economy will be better a year from now, 19% say it will be the same, 29% say it will be worse, and 4% are undecided.
National economy a year from now
Better than today The same as today Worse than today Undecided
Mar 2008 48% 19% 29% 4%
Feb 2008 42% 30% 27% 1%
Jan 2008 32% 35% 21% 12%
Dec 2007 28% 28% 43% 1%
Nov 2007 24% 29% 39% 8%
Oct 2007 18% 27% 53% 2%
Sep 2007 32% 26% 38% 4%
Aug 2007 32% 20% 42% 6%
Jul 2007 22% 31% 42% 5%
Jun 2007 22% 33% 42% 3%
May 2007 16% 29% 48% 7%
Apr 2007 26% 29% 41% 4%
Mar 2007 22% 27% 49% 2%
Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his job, 39% say better, 48% say the same as today, and 11% say worse than today. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job as president, 50% say better, 11% say the same, and 34% say worse.
Overall, 66% of Americans say they believe that the national economy is in a recession, 12% say they do not believe the economy is in a recession, and 22% are undecided.
National economy in a recession
Yes No Undecided
Mar 2008 66% 12% 22%
Feb 2008 47% 29% 24%
Jan 2008 35% 24% 41%
Dec 2007 7% 28% 65%
Nov 2007 34% 41% 25%
Oct 2007 40% 38% 22%
Sep 2007 25% 52% 23%
Aug 2007 31% 38% 31%
Jul 2007 29% 37% 34%
Jun 2007 22% 41% 37%
May 2007 36% 38% 26%
Apr 2007 28% 53% 19%
Mar 2007 25% 46% 29%
Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his job, 18% say the national economy is in a recession, 45% say is it not in a recession, and 37% are undecided. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job, 80% say the national economy is in a recession, 2% say the national economy is not in a recession, and 18% are undecided.
A total of 21% of Americans rate the national economy as excellent, very good, or good and 78% rate it as bad, very bad, or terrible.
National economy
Excellent Very good Good Bad Very bad Terrible Undecided
Mar 2008 1% 4% 16% 10% 26% 42% 1%
Feb 2008 1% 7% 17% 44% 10% 20% 1%
Jan 2008 2% 14% 27% 21% 17% 18% 1%
Dec 2007 7% 16% 12% 31% 16% 17% 1%
Nov 2007 16% 11% 21% 25% 12% 14% 1%
Oct 2007 8% 10% 20% 29% 14% 18% 1%
Sep 2007 13% 14% 21% 27% 7% 17% 1%
Aug 2007 9% 19% 21% 22% 16% 12% 1%
Jul 2007 9% 11% 23% 28% 12% 16% 1%
Jun 2007 16% 11% 20% 31% 9% 12% 1%
May 2007 12% 15% 16% 25% 16% 15% 1%
Apr 2007 17% 12% 29% 30% 8% 3% 1%
Mar 2007 16% 13% 25% 26% 12% 5% 3%
Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his job, 72% say excellent, very good, or good and 27% say bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job, 93% say bad, very bad, or terrible and 6% say excellent, very good, or good.
When it comes to rating their household financial situations, 64% of Americans give an excellent, very good, or good rating and 35% give a bad, very bad, or terrible rating.
Household financial situation
Excellent Very good Good Bad Very bad Terrible Undecided
Mar 2008 9% 22% 33% 17% 16% 2% 1%
Feb 2008 6% 17% 36% 22% 11% 7% 1%
Jan 2008 12% 13% 45% 15% 6% 8% 1%
Dec 2007 14% 16% 36% 12% 17% 4% 1%
Nov 2007 13% 14% 38% 27% 6% 1% 1%
Oct 2007 11% 22% 32% 27% 2% 5% 1%
Sep 2007 12% 17% 44% 18% 3% 5% 1%
Aug 2007 11% 19% 25% 33% 9% 2% 1%
Jul 2007 5% 24% 39% 15% 9% 7% 1%
Jun 2007 8% 19% 41% 22% 6% 3% 1%
May 2007 15% 9% 38% 19% 12% 6% 1%
Apr 2007 11% 16% 51% 17% 3% 1% 1%
Mar 2007 11% 16% 44% 24% 2% 2% 1%
Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his job, 87% say excellent, very good, or good and 12% say bad or very bad. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job, 56% say very good, or good and 43% say bad, very bad, or terrible.
A total of 7% of Americans say they think the financial situations in their households are getting better, 46% say staying the same, and 46% say getting worse.
Household financial situation
Getting better Staying the same Getting worse Undecided
Mar 2008 7% 46% 46% 1%
Feb 2008 8% 45% 41% 6%
Jan 2008 22% 25% 49% 4%
Dec 2007 20% 50% 29% 1%
Nov 2007 14% 54% 26% 6%
Oct 2007 17% 45% 35% 3%
Sep 2007 24% 39% 34% 3%
Aug 2007 21% 37% 41% 1%
Jul 2007 15% 47% 37% 1%
Jun 2007 11% 48% 37% 4%
May 2007 21% 44% 34% 1%
Apr 2007 24% 41% 31% 4%
Mar 2007 20% 40% 39% 1%
Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his job, 31% say getting better, 61% say staying the same, and 6% say getting worse. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job, none say getting better, 41% say staying the same, and 58% say getting worse.
Looking to a year from now, 31% of Americans say that they think their household financial situations will be better than today, 41% say the same as today, and 25% say worse than today.
Household financial situation a year from now
Better than today The same as today Worse than today Undecided
Mar 2008 31% 41% 25% 3%
Feb 2008 17% 52% 25% 6%
Jan 2008 28% 41% 24% 7%
Dec 2007 36% 37% 25% 2%
Nov 2007 29% 43% 19% 9%
Oct 2007 26% 48% 23% 3%
Sep 2007 48% 29% 18% 5%
Aug 2007 32% 33% 24% 11%
Jul 2007 34% 39% 22% 5%
Jun 2007 29% 39% 23% 9%
May 2007 29% 33% 33% 5%
Apr 2007 30% 33% 36% 1%
Mar 2007 35% 30% 29% 6%
Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his job, 57% say better than today and 42% say the same as today. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job, 23% say better than today, 41% say the same as today, and 32% say worse than today.
About this Survey -
Survey Sponsor: American Research Group, Inc.
The American Research Group has been conducting national surveys of consumers since 1985.
Sample Size: 1,100 completed telephone interviews among a random sample of all adults age 18 and older living in telephone households in the continental United States.
Sample Dates: March 16-19, 2008
Margin of Error: ± 3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.
Question Wording:
How do you rate the condition of the national economy these days - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?
Do you think the national economy is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?
Would you say that the national economy is in a recession, or not?
A year from now, do you expect the national economy to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?
How do you rate the condition of the financial situation in your household - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?
Do you think the financial situation in your household is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?
A year from now, do you expect the financial situation in your household to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?
Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?
Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the economy?
http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy/
