Is President Bush Losing His Flock?

The graph below shows quarterly averages of presidential approval ratings from the Gallup Organization and Gallup/CNN/USA Today among self-identified Republicans and conservatives, as compiled by Karlyn Bowman and Bryan O'Keefe at the American Enterprise Institute.

According to Bowman, reactions from the press to these figures have been varied. She comments, “What reporters have been asking is whether Bush is losing his core or base support. We know his ratings among Democrats have been dreadful for a long time, and that his ratings among independents have been dropping. But what reporters want to know is whether the fatigue of the war in Iraq, gas prices, and a sluggish economy are causing him to lose support among his 'faithful.'” As these trendlines continue to be updated, no doubt the effects of the Harriet Miers’ nomination to the Supreme Court—and her withdrawal—will be seen as well.

Karlyn Bowman is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. She compiles the AEI Public Opinion Studies. Bryan O'Keefe is a research assistant at AEI.

Readers who wish to respond to this or other articles appearing in Public Opinion Pros, or to contribute commentary of their own in 800 words or less, should consult our author submission guidelines and editorial policies under “Letters to the editor and op-ed articles.” Op-ed submissions must be received at least two weeks before the first of the month for the issue in which they are to appear.