GALLUP: Bush Approval, Soc. Sec., Economy, DeLay, Filibusters, Pope, etc.

[Roland99]

http://www.gallup.com/poll/content/?ci=16045

The Nation's Pulse is a weekly review and discussion of Gallup Poll results on topics currently in the news. Dr. Frank Newport, editor in chief of The Gallup Poll, appears frequently on CNN and other networks to present the public's perspective on the issues of the day.

Bush Approval

President George W. Bush's job approval rating is back at 48%. This is the lowest rating of any re-elected president at this point in a second term since Dwight Eisenhower -- although it's by no means dismal compared with what other presidents have seen at different points in their tenures. Bush's father was below 30% at one point in the summer of 1992, and Bill Clinton's ratings fell into the 30% range in his first term. Reporters have called to ask if these lower ratings for Bush mean his second-term agenda is doomed to failure. My answer: "No." Too much can change, and change quickly over the next few years for anyone to be generalizing at this point about Bush's second term.


Social Security

The president will be out and about this week continuing to push for Social Security reform -- in Galveston, Texas, Tuesday and in the D.C. suburbs on Friday. Not to be outdone, the Democrats will be hosting their own Social Security event in Washington this week.

The data on Social Security simply don't look great for the president. Bush's job approval rating on handling Social Security remains considerably lower than his overall rating. One recent question that asked Americans about a Social Security privatization plan found that opponents outnumbered supporters by almost 2-to-1. But regardless of how the question is asked, most polls show declining support for the concept. Furthermore, about half of Americans believe that Bush is attempting to dismantle the Social Security system.

We see an interesting paradox of sorts when we attempt to get a fix on the priority that Americans attach to Social Security reform. Social Security scores relatively low when embedded in a list of issues that Congress and the president could tackle -- coming in below terrorism, healthcare costs, gas prices, and the economy. At the same time, 6 in 10 Americans say political leaders are moving too slowly to take up legislation that would address the Social Security system's ills.

[aquart]

1. Social Security is not ill.

I wish this president would stick to lying about sex and tell the truth about everything else.

[ClintonTyree]

2. How can 48%..

of Americans believe that the smirking, murder monkey is doing a good job guiding America?

I have officially given up on America and Americans. They are obviously not paying attention to what's going on in their country. I'm sick. I'm tired. I'm sick and tired of trying to communicate to these numbskulls. I'm sick and tired of trying to inform them about things that they, with a minimum of effort, should know. Screw 'em. May they live blissfully ignorant while their Democracy disappears from under them to be replaced with a theocratic dictatorship.

[Roland99]

Well, remember Gallup is skewed a good 4-5% toward Repubs

Even then, that's pretty damn sad.

[demo dutch]

3. I pretty much agree with you. America gets what it deserves

The rest of the world is moving forward.Unless the 48% increases, it pretty much the way it was around the last eletion.
The time may have come to move back to Europe.