Bush Approval Steady at 42%

PRINCETON, NJ -- President George W. Bush's State of the Union address on Jan. 31 did little to move his overall job approval rating, according to a new Gallup Poll. Roughly 4 in 10 Americans continue to say they approve of Bush, with a majority saying they disapprove. The poll also asked Americans to rate Bush on six issues facing the nation today. Of these issues, Bush scores highest on terrorism and lowest on energy and healthcare. There have only been modest variations in Americans' ratings of these issues since late January, with the exception of a slight decrease in his healthcare policy rating.

The poll, conducted Feb. 6-9, 2006 finds that 42% of Americans approve and 55% disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job as president. Bush's approval ratings have been extremely stable in the low-40% range across eight separate Gallup Polls conducted since early December 2005. His previous approval rating was 43% in late January. Americans' approval ratings of Bush were slightly lower in November 2005, reaching the lowest point of his presidency, at 37% in the middle of that month. Bush's current approval rating is slightly lower than his 45.8% average for 2005.

Bush job approval ratings continue to be divided along political lines. Eighty-one percent of Republicans say they approve of the way the president is handling his job, while 35% of independents and just 8% of Democrats share this point of view.

Issues Approval

The poll also asked Americans to rate the way Bush is handling six issues facing the nation, all of which he addressed in his State of the Union address.

Americans are most likely to approve of the way Bush is handling terrorism, with 54% saying they approve. Roughly 4 in 10 Americans approve of the way Bush is handling the economy (40%), foreign affairs (39%), and the situation in Iraq (38%). Americans are least likely to approve of Bush's policies on energy (30%) or healthcare (27%).

There have only been modest fluctuations over the past two months in Bush's ratings on terrorism, the economy, foreign affairs and Iraq. But, the current poll does find a slight decline in approval of Bush's healthcare policy, from 31% in late January to 27% now.

Bush's current rating on his energy policy is 30%, compared with a 36% reading when it was last asked in June 2005. Bush's overall job approval rating was 45% in the June poll. Thus, his overall rating has dropped by three points between then and now, compared with a six-point drop in his energy rating. However, a Dec. 9-11, 2005 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll asked the public to rate Bush's handling of "gas and home heating prices." His ratings on that issue were similar to his current energy approval rating, with 28% approving and 67% disapproving.

Bush's ratings on the six issues also vary significantly by party affiliation.

All three partisan groups rate Bush highest on terrorism, but there are significant differences among the groups -- 87% of Republicans, 48% of independents, and only 25% of Democrats approve of Bush's handling of this issue. Significant differences also exist by partisanship on the remaining five issues (the economy, foreign affairs, Iraq, energy, and healthcare).

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,002 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Feb. 6-9, 2006. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?