So, I keep hearing this Bush 37% approval rating number thrown around.
Yeah, about that: it comes from an AP-IPSOS poll (.pdf file) taken 6-8 March. The poll has some interesting internals (I’m particularly fond of the cluelessness revealed by the 77% who believe it “likely” that civil war will break out in Iraq), but the telling number is this demographic (found on page 10 of 13):
Total Republican: 39
Total Democrat: 51
Now, I can’t find the actual numbers from, say, the 2004 elections with respect to votes cast by party affiliation, but if I remember correctly, registered voters were evenly split (and Republicans may have even had a slight advantage). Still wonder why that approval rating number looks so low?
Via RealClearPolitics.