According to today’s Washington Post, President Bush’s approval ratings is at an all-time low.
Rising gas prices and ongoing bloodshed in Iraq continue to take their toll on President Bush, whose standing with the public has sunk to an all-time low, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.
The survey found Bush’s job approval rating at 45 percent, down seven points since January and the lowest ever recorded for the president in Post-ABC surveys. Fifty-three percent disapproved of the job Bush is doing.
The war has been a drag on Bush’s presidency for many months, but his Iraq approval ratings in the new poll were little changed from two months ago, despite widespread violence, a rash of U.S. casualties, antiwar protests outside the president’s Texas ranch and a growing debate about reducing U.S. troop levels.
What may have pushed Bush’s overall ratings down in the latest poll is pervasive dissatisfaction over soaring gasoline prices. Two-thirds of those surveyed said gas prices are causing financial hardship to them or their families. Gas prices stand to go even higher after Hurricane Katrina’s rampage through the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico.
More ominously for the president, six in 10 Americans said there are steps the administration could take to reduce gas prices. Slightly more than a third say the recent run-up has been due to factors beyond the administration’s control
The article does not say what those polled think it is that the government could do to reduce gas prices in any significant respect, but that doesn’t really matter. As I’ve mentioned before here, here, and here, the rising cost of gas is going to lead the public to call on the government to do “something” about it.
Given the fact that Hurricane Katrina will lead to an increase in energy costs, its not to difficult to imagine the political consequences that will follow. If anything, I expect the President’s job approval ratings to fall further.
