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Bush's low popularity

Here is an interesting tabulation of how various Presidents have fared in the Gallup poll during a certain point in their second term. Comparing the approval ratings of seven Presidents during August of the second term (except for Truman, where a June poll was used in lieu of one having been done for August), we find that Bush has the second-lowest approval rating at this time in his second term. The only President with a lower approval rating was Nixon, who was in the midst of the Watergate scandal at that time. This table also does not reflect the fact that Bush's approval rating has sunk even lower since August, down to 40%.

President

Time

Approval rating

Harry Truman

June 1949 (No July or
August 1949 measure)

58%

Dwight Eisenhower

August 1957

63

Lyndon B. Johnson

August 1965

65

Richard Nixon

August 1973

34

Ronald Reagan

August 1985

61

Bill Clinton

August 1997

61

George W. Bush

August 2005

43