Bush Is More Unpopular Than Nixon In Final Days

[nighthawkal]

President Bush has a 76% approval rating and is more unpopular than Nixon during Watergate. I'm surprised that his unpopularity has reached its peak now when his term will be over in the next two months. Don't Presidents usually get a little bit of a break when they are at the end of their terms? He is a lame duck and can't really do anything

Comments

[nighthawkal]

Wasn't he warning about issues with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before they became real problems. I think Bush's biggest problem is that he hasn't 'gone to the American people' very often. Everything he says or does goes through the filter of the media, so they are going to make whatever he says or does look bad. If he had more press conferences and spoke directly to the people, he probably wouldn't be as unpopular as he is.

[nighthawkal]

I thought he didn't address the American people more often because he knows that he is bad at public speaking. I think that one of the responsiblities of the President, at least in the modern era, is to make sure that everyone is aware of what he is doing and why he is doing what he is doing. I think Bush averages a press conference about once a month or less. I think McCain stated that if he was President, he would have press conferences every 2 weeks. Of course, Bush probably doesn't like the media very well because of the way they have treated his father and him, but he has to find a way to get his message out to the public with or without the media or press conferences