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A Brief History of Bush's Flameout

A look back at the highlights and low points of "the longest sustained period of public disapproval" in the history of the American presidency

Posted Sep 04, 2008 9:19 AM

March 13, 2001
Bush abandons campaign pledge to cut climate-warming pollution

Approval Rating March 26-28, 2001: 53%

June 7, 2001
Bush signs $1.3 trillion tax cut

Approval Rating June 11-17, 2001: 55%

August 6, 2001
President's Daily Brief: "Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in U.S."

Approval Rating August 10-12, 2001: 57%

September 11, 2001
9/11: "The Pet Goat"

Approval Rating September 14-15, 2001: 86%

October 7, 2001
U.S. invades Afghanistan

Approval Rating October 11-14, 2001: 89%

Early-Mid December, 2001
Osama slips away at Tora Bora

Approval Rating December 14-16, 2001: 86%

January 11, 2002
Guantanamo Bay opens for business

Approval Rating January 11-14, 2002: 83%

February 11, 2002
Bush on Bin Laden: "I truly am not that concerned about him"

Approval Rating March 1-3, 2002: 81%

March 13, 2002
Bush secretly diverts $700 million appropriated for Afghanistan to prepare for invasion of Iraq

Approval Rating March 18-20, 2002: 79%

May 19, 2002
Pentagon unveils project to "data mine" every American's phone calls, e-mails and medical records

Approval Rating May 20-22, 2002: 79%

September 10, 2002
Cheney: "There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."

Approval Rating September 13-16, 2002: 70%

November 5, 2002
Republicans regain Senate majority

Approval Rating November 8-10, 2002: 68%

December 2, 2002
Rumsfeld authorizes torture

Approval Rating December 5-8, 2002: 64%

January 28, 2003
State of the Union: Saddam "sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

Approval Rating January 31-February 2, 2003: 61%

February 5, 2003
Colin Powell bullshits U.N.

Approval Rating February 7-9, 2003: 61%

February 15, 2003
Ten million take to streets in world's largest anti-war protest

Approval Rating February 17-19, 2003: 58%

March 19, 2003
Shock and Awe begins.

Approval Rating March 22-23, 2003 71%

April 11, 2003
Rumsfeld on Iraq looting: "Stuff happens."

Approval Rating April 14-16, 2003: 71%

May 1, 2003
"Mission Accomplished"

Approval Rating May 5-7, 2003: 69%

May 20, 2003
Iraq insurgency begins.

Approval Rating May 30-June 1, 2003: 64%

July 2, 2003
Bush to insurgents: "Bring 'em on!"

Approval Rating July 7-9, 2003: 62%

July 2003
Robert Novak outs Valerie Plame.

Approval Rating August 4-6, 2003: 60%

December 8, 2003
Congress bars government from negotiating cheaper prescriptions for the elderly

Approval Rating December 11-14, 2003: 56%

December 21, 2003
Saddam captured

Approval Rating January 2-5, 2004: 60%

April 28, 2004
First photos of Abu Ghraib surface.

Approval Rating May 2-4, 2004: 49%

September, 2004
U.S. deaths in Iraq reach 1,000.

Approval Rating October 1-3, 2004: 50%

October 22, 2004
Bush signs $155 billion in corporate tax cuts.

Approval Rating October 29-31, 2004: 48%

November 2, 2004
Bush re-elected

Approval Rating November 7-10, 2004: 53%

2004
Congress approves record 13,997 porkbarrel projects
totaling $27.3 billion

Approval Rating January 14-16, 2005: 51%

March 21, 2005
President signs Terri Schiavo bill at 1 a.m.

Approval Rating April 1-2, 2005: 48%

June 8, 2005
White House caught censoring reports by government scientists on global warming.

Approval Rating June 16-19, 2005: 47%

August 29, 2005
Katrina hits; Bush flies to Phoenix for John McCain's birthday.

Approval Rating September 8-11, 2005: 46%

September 2, 2005
"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."

Approval Rating September 8-11, 2005: 46%

October 25, 2005
Tom DeLay indicted.

Approval Rating October 28-30, 2005: 41%

December 2005
U.S. deaths in Iraq reach 2,000.

Approval Rating January 9-12, 2006: 43%

March 29, 2006
Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff convicted.

Approval Rating April 7-9, 2006: 37%

September 29, 2006
Rep. Mark Foley quits over page scandal.

Approval Rating October 6-8, 2006: 37%

November 6, 2006
Democrats regain control of House and Senate.

Approval Rating November 9-12, 2006: 33%

November 7, 2006
Rumsfeld resigns.

Approval Rating November 9-12, 2006: 33%

December 6, 2006
Iraq Study Group calls situation "grave and deteriorating."

Approval Rating December 8-10, 2006: 38%

December 2006
U.S. deaths in Iraq reach 3,000.

Approval Rating January 5-7, 2007: 37%

June 11, 2007
Sen. Larry Craig arrested

Approval Rating July 6-8, 2007: 29%

July 2, 2007
Bush commutes Scooter Libby's sentence.

Approval Rating July 6-8, 2007: 29%

August 13, 2007
Karl Rove resigns.

Approval Rating September 7-8, 2007: 33%

February 28, 2008
Bush: "Wait, what did you just say? You're predicting $4 a gallon gasoline? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that."

Approval Rating March 6-9, 2008: 32%

March 2008
U.S. deaths in Iraq reach 4,000.

Approval Rating April 6-9, 2008: 28%

July 9, 2008
Bush adieu to the G8: "Farewell from the world's biggest polluter!"

Approval Rating July 10-13, 2008: 31%

August 2008
Bush White House projects it will leave America with a record defict of $482 billion.

Approval Rating August 21-23, 2008: 29%