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In the time of national crisis following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Bush briefly enjoyed approval ratings of greater than 85 percent. Bush maintained these extraordinary ratings (the highest approval ratings of any president since such regular polls began in 1938) for some months following the attack, though they gradually dropped to lower levels.
During the 2002 midterm congressional elections, Bush had the highest approval rating of any president during a mid-term election since Dwight Eisenhower, and subsequently the Republican Party retook control of the Senate and added to their majority in the House of Representatives. These results marked an unusual deviation from the historic trend of the President's party losing congressional seats in the midterm elections, and was just the third time since the Civil War that the party in control of the White House gained seats in both houses of Congress in a midterm election (others were 1902 and 1934). One explanation for this historic event is that Bush's wartime popularity carried over to other Republicans in races for legislative office. Another is that the singularly close election of Bush in 2000 complicates expectations based on general historic trends.
In 2003, Bush's approval ratings continued their slow descent from the 2001 highs, with 13 major polls agreeing on a remarkably stable and consistent 1.7% per month decline for his entire presidency with the exceptions of only three significant increases: immediately after 9/11, during the Iraq War, and the capture of Saddam Hussein. By late 2003, his approval numbers were in the low to middle 50s. Nevertheless, his numbers were still solid for the third year of a Presidency, when the President's opponents typically begin their campaigns in earnest. Most polls tied the decline to growing concern over the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq and the economy's slow recovery from the 2001 recession. Late during the Democratic primary, most major polls showed Bush losing to the various Democratic challengers by a narrow margin. Polls of May 2004 showed anywhere from a 53 percent approval rating [25] to a 46 percent approval rating. [26] Composite time-series graphs of Bush's approval ratings from January 2001 to May 2004 are available at [27] [28], an analysis of G. W. Bush's popularity over time is available at [29].
George W. Bush has been the subject of both high praise and stringent criticism, and has been called by some the "love him or hate him" president. The former have focused on matters such as the economy, homeland security, and especially his leadership after the September 11 attacks; the latter on matters such as the economy, the controversial 2000 election, and the occupation of Iraq.
President Bush and French President Jacques Chirac during the G-8 sessions, July 21, 2001.
Bush's popularity outside the United States is generally lower. In many parts of the world he is very unpopular, with many reporting a dislike of his personality and foreign policy. The 2003 Invasion of Iraq particularly provoked charges of unilateralism. Recent polls indicate erosion of support among Europeans for Bush, for example a drop from 36% to 16% favorability over the last year in Germany.[30] A broader Associated Press/Ipsos survey of industrialized nations found that a majority of people in France, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Spain—in addition to Canada and the UK, where Anglo-American cooperation traditionally reigns—have an unfavorable view of Bush and his policy on foreign affairs, although significant minorities continue to report favorable views. [31] In Muslim countries Bush's unfavorability ratings are particularly high, often over 90%. [32] Among the non-U.S. nations polled in a worldwide study, Bush's popularity was highest in Israel, where 62% reported favorable views. [33]
A July and August 2004 survey by the University of Maryland and GlobeScan, Inc. of 34,330 people in 35 nations found that, in 30 out of 35 countries polled, a majority or plurality would have preferred to see Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry win in the 2004 election. Kerry was strongly preferred by traditional European allies like Norway (74% for Kerry to 7% for Bush), Germany (74% to 10%), France (64% to 5%), the Netherlands (63% to 6%), Italy (58% to 14%), Spain (45% to 7%), and the United Kingdom (47% to 16%). Also other allies such as Japan (43% to 23%), Mexico (38% to 18%), Turkey (40% to 25%) and South Africa (43% to 29%). The only countries where President Bush was preferred by a majority were the Philippines, Nigeria, and Poland. India and Thailand were divided. [34] An October [35]poll by a range of major international newspapers show that in Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Japan, Spain and South Korea a majority of voters share a rejection of the Iraq invasion, contempt for the Bush administration and a growing hostility to the U.S.; however, while they all oppose the Bush government's politics, they do not express a dislike of American people. Another poll found that Israel was the only country surveyed in which a majority favored President Bush over Senator Kerry.
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![[28]](http://www.pollkatz.homestead.com/files/pollkatzmainGRAPHICS_8911_image001.gif){kind=link}