Bush Poll Numbers Continue to Fall

Posted on August 16, 2006

Even a genuine terror scare failed to jump start President Bush's dismal poll ratings. A recent Zogby poll puts Bush's approval rating at only 34%. And what's really bad is the "Wal-Mart Shoppers Poll" which shows his support at only 45%. Zogby discovered that Wal-Mart shoppers overwhelmingly supported President Bush in the last election.

The numbers continue to reflect erosion in the President's political base - just 62% of Republicans give him positive marks for his job performance, while 38% 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% now give him positive job marks, though his numbers among those shoppers have improved 10 points since early June.
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One third of respondents - 34% - said that, overall, the nation is headed in the right direction, while 59% said they think things are off on the wrong track.

When nearly 60% of the voting public thinks the country is headed in the wrong direction and the Wal-Mart vote is slipping away, it's time for the RNC to start worrying. Joe Lieberman's defeat in the Connecticut Democratic primary sent shockwaves throughout the Republican party. In fact, the White House has refused to officially support the Republican candidate in the upcoming Senate race, preferring to quietly back Lieberman in his wrong-headed refusal to give up his Senate seat. That has to be infuriating for Republican candidate Alan Schlesinger who is polling at a dismal 6% in a three-way race.

Clearly, the White House would prefer the pro-war, pro-Bush, pro-neocon Lieberman to keep his senate seat which Lieberman now must chase after as an Independent candidate. The Connecticut senate race is going to be one of the most watched races in the upcoming midterms. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. One thing's for sure, Lieberman isn't winning any friends in his own party with his vow to run as an Independent, after his own party picked millionaire entrepeneur (and former Republican) Ned Lamont.