Bush. Unpopular, But In Good Company

A new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released yesterday indicates that Bush has the highest disapproval rating of any president ever (or at least since they started polling such things). According to the poll, 71 percent of the American public disapproves of how Bush is handling his job as president

"No president has ever had a higher disapproval rating in any CNN or Gallup Poll; in fact, this is the first time that any president's disapproval rating has cracked the 70 percent mark," said Keating Holland, CNN's polling director.

His approval rating is 28%. I am among that 28% (this blog isn’t called “Minority Opinions” for nothing). But that doesn’t mean history will judge Bush as harshly. After all the lowest approval rating (22%) and now second highest disapproval rating of 67% belonged to Harry Truman. Today Truman is considered to be one of our greater presidents.

The high disapproval rating is really a function of circumstances. For the first time since 1952 we have a presidential election where neither a sitting president nor vice-president is running. No one therefore has a strong incentive to fight back to defend the administrations record. McCain certainly isn’t making it a priority. The record low approval rating is then an effect of the one sided message being put out their by the candidates and the media. Don’t believe me? Who was president in 1952? Harry Truman.