Approval Ratings for President and Congressional Leaders Continue to Drop

President Bush's job approval ratings are at their lowest point of his presidency as only 40 percent of U.S. adults have a favorable opinion of his job performance, while 58 percent have a negative opinion. This is a decline from just two months ago in June when the president's ratings were 45 percent positive and 55 percent negative. Much of this decline can be tied to the public's opinion on important issues. The war has climbed to the top of the most important issues list and the economy is now the second most important issue.

These are some of the results of a new Harris Poll of 1,217 U.S. adults surveyed by telephone by Harris Interactive(R) between August 9 and 16, 2005.

Ratings of Other Cabinet Members

The Harris Poll(R) also examined the ratings of others in the Bush administration and with one exception; their ratings have also dropped in the past two months. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is the only cabinet member who has seen a rise in her ratings. She is now at 57 percent positive and 37 percent negative, a rise from June when she was at 52 percent positive and 41 percent negative. Her ratings clearly top those of the political figures measured.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has a 40 percent positive, 58 percent negative rating while Vice President Dick Cheney has a 35 percent positive, 60 percent negative rating.

Congress and Congressional Leaders

Looking at the parties in Congress, both Republicans and Democrats see drops in their ratings, with the Republicans taking the larger fall. Slightly under one-third (31%) of adults give a positive rating to Democrats in Congress and 65 percent give them a negative rating, down from their 33 percent positive, 61 percent negative ratings in June. Currently, Republicans fare only slightly better with a 32 percent positive and a 64 percent negative rating, down from a 37 percent positive and a 58 percent negative rating in June.

In looking at the ratings of individual leaders in Congress, they hold pretty steady from June. Both Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay have positive ratings of 28 percent, but more than half of adults (54%) give a negative rating to DeLay as compared to the 49 percent negative rating for Frist. The Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, has a 26 percent positive rating and 46 percent negative rating, and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is at 24 percent positive and 47 percent negative.

Right Direction or Wrong Track

As the attitudes toward the president, his cabinet and Congress continue to decline, Americans are also less satisfied with the way things are going in the country now as compared to in June. A majority (59%) of adults say things in the country have gotten pretty seriously off on the wrong track and 37 percent believe things are moving in the right direction. In June, those numbers were 38 percent who said things were moving in the right direction and 55 percent who said things had headed off on the wrong track.

The War is the Most Important Issue

The main reason why these percentages may be as low as they are probably has to do with the most important issues Americans want to see addressed. The war has taken a large jump as 41 percent say that it is the most important issue for the government to address, up from 24 percent in June. Following the war, the economy remains near the top of the list as 19 percent believe it is the most important issue. We also see that the rising gas prices has moved to the top five issues of importance as 10 percent of adults think it is the most important issue for the government to address.

The fact that neither the war nor the economy may be perceived as going well and people are constantly being reminded of the gas prices every time they fill their tanks has perhaps left the public looking for someone to blame. Right now, it looks like they may be placing that blame on the president, members of his administration and Congress.