Politics

Bush had higher approval rating than Obama at this point in his presidency

Patrick Howley Political Reporter
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President George W. Bush held a higher approval rating in October of his fifth year in office than President Obama.

Obama’s approval rating stands at 37 percent with a 53 percent disapproval rating, according to an Associated Press/GfK poll released Wednesday October 9.

At the same point in the first year of his second term, Bush held a higher approval rating even as he battled criticisms of his handling of weeks-old Hurricane Katrina.

Bush held a 39 percent approval rating in an AP/Ipsos poll conducted between October 3-5, 2005. He also registered at 39 percent in an October 13-16 Gallup poll before gaining two points to clock in at 42 percent between October 21-23.

Bush held a 40 percent approval rating in an October 12-24 Pew poll.

Obama, still reeling from his administration’s IRS and NSA surveillance scandals, is clearly not escaping the government shutdown unscathed.

But at least Obama’s bully pulpit rhetoric seems to be working. 63 percent of Americans blame Republicans for refusing to cooperate with Obama, while 52 percent note Obama’s lack of cooperation.

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