Poll: Bush’s Approval Rating Down to 34 Percent, 45 percent Among Wal-Mart Shoppers
Eroding, imploding: According to a poll conducted by Zogby International this week, George Bush continues to lose support among his Republican base and his approval rating has hit 34 percent, down two points in the past two weeks. The survey was conducted Aug. 11-15, 2006, and included 1,018 respondents.
The numbers continue to reflect erosion in the President’s political base — just 62 percent of Republicans give him positive marks for his job performance, while 38 percent give him negative marks. Even among weekly WalMart shoppers — a demographic group identified by Pollster John Zogby as a critical support group for Bush — just 45 percent now give him positive job marks, though his numbers among those shoppers have improved 10 points since early June.
More than three out of four — 76 percent — of weekly WalMart shoppers voted for Bush over Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election, earlier Zogby polling showed.
Among both conservatives and those who consider themselves very conservative, 59 percent give [Bush] positive marks, while 41 percent in each group gave him a negative job rating.
One third of respondents — 34 percent — said that, overall, the nation is headed in the right direction, while 59 percent said they think things are off on the wrong track.
Democrats continue to carry a lead into the fall campaign season on the generic congressional election question. Likely voters in the poll, asked whether they planned to vote for the Democrat or the Republican in their local congressional election, 39 percent favored Democrats, while 31 percent said they would be voting for the Republican candidate. Democrats also are winning the battle among independents, who favor the out–of–power party by a 32 percent to 20 percent margin, with 41 percent of independents yet undecided.
Asked if the war in Iraq has been worth the loss of American lives, 38 percent said “yes,” while 56 percent said “no,” a ratio that has held steady over the past year or so.