Support for the Iraq War policy of Pres. George W. Bush is measured here by poll responses to this question: "Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling…the situation in Iraq/Foreign Affairs?" While positive responses about presidential policies tend to rise during all international crises, they rise most when presidents act decisively in response to dramatic international events. When presidential popularity rises, disapproval of Presidential job performance also falls.
Presidential War Policy: The Iraq War
Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation in Iraq?
Analysis. The initial rally followed closely events from the war zone, with approval of Bush's Iraq War peaking shortly after the fall of Baghdad (April 10, 2003), and with declines appearing in approval of Bush's handling of the war steady in the months thereafter. Of note is a mini-rally in approval of Bush's handling of the war policy that coincided with the capture of Saddam Hussein (December 2003) and which extended briefly thereafter into January 2004. Despite the overall downward trend in approval of Bush's handling of the war, additional brief rallies in approval of Bush's handling of the war continued through 2004, coinciding with the heavily reported Fallujah campaign in Spring 2004, and with the presidential election season of Fall 2004, in which Bush narrowly was re-elected.
A second factor to note as illustrated in the chart is the trend in disapproval of Bush's handling of the Iraq War. At no time after May 2005 did those approving of his performance in handling the Iraq War number as many as did those disapproving that performance.
Complete data on the chart above is supplied below:
Question: Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling…the situation in Iraq/Foreign Affairs? (Charts are listed in reverse chronological order)
February 15, 2007-Approve 37%, Disapprove 59%, No Opinion 3% (Gallup, Participants=1,006)
January 16, 2007-Approve 28%, Disapprove 70%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,003)
December 12, 2006- Approve 38%, Disapprove 59%, No opinion 4% (Gallup, Participants=1,009)
November 6, 2006-Approve 38%, Disapprove 56%, No Opinion 6% (Gallup, Participants=1,510)
October 24, 2006-Approve 37%, Disapprove 58%, No Opinion 4% (Gallup, Participants=1,002)
September 30, 2006-Approve 44%, Disapprove 51%, No Opinion 5% (Gallup, Participants=1,003
August 22, 2006-Approve 36%, Disapprove 61%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,001)
July 25, 2006-Approve 35%, Disapprove 62%, No Opinion 3% (Gallup, Participants=1,005)
June 13, 2006-Approve 36%, Disapprove 60%, No Opinion 4% (Gallup, Participants=1,002)
May 2, 2006-Approve 32%, Disapprove 66%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,011)
April 14, 2006-Approve 32%, Disapprove 65%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,004)
March 3, 2006-Approve 35%, Disapprove 64%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,020)
February 10, 2006-Approve 38%, Disapprove 59%, No Opinion 3% (Gallup, Participants=1,002)
January 24, 2006-Approve 39%, Disapprove 58%, No Opinion 3% (Gallup, Participants=1,006)
December 20, 2005-Approve 37%, Disapprove 61%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,003)
November 15, 2005-Approve 35%, Disapprove 63%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,006)
September 20, 2005-Approve 32%, Disapprove 67%, No Opinion 1% (Gallup, Participants=818)
August 9, 2005-Approve 25%, Disapprove 51%, No Opinion 4% (Gallup, Participants=1,004)
June 28, 2005-Approve 40%, Disapprove 58%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,009)
May 24, 2005-Approve 40%, Disapprove 56%, No Opinion 4% (Gallup, Participants=1,006)
April 6, 2005-Approve 43%, Disapprove 54%, No Opinion 3% (Gallup, Participants=1,040)
March 1, 2005-Approve 45%, Disapprove 53%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,008)
February 8, 2005-Approve 50%, Disapprove 48%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,010)
January 11, 2005-Approve 42%, Disapprove 56%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,008)
December 21, 2004-Approve 48%, Disapprove 51%, No Opinion 1% (Gallup, Participants=1,002)
November 24, 2004-Approve 55%, Disapprove 42%, No Opinion 3% (Gallup, Participants=1,015)
October 31, 2004-Approve 50%, Disapprove 48%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=801)
September 30, 2004-Approve 51%, Disapprove 48%, No Opinion 1% (Gallup, Participants=809)
August 12, 2004-Approve45%, Disapprove 52%, No Opinion 3% (Gallup, Participants=1,017)
June 25, 2004-Approve 42%, Disapprove 56%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,005)
May 11, 2004-Approve 41%, Disapprove 58%, No Opinion 1% (Gallup, Participants=1,003)
April 20, 2004-Approve 48%, Disapprove 49%, No Opinion 3% (Gallup, Participants=1,003)
March 30, 2004-Approve 51%, Disapprove 47%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,001
February 3, 2004-Approve 46%, Disapprove 53%, No Opinion 1% (Gallup, Participants=1,001)
January 7, 2004-Approve 61%, Disapprove 36%, No Opinion 3% (Gallup, Participants=1,029)
December 9, 2003-Approve 50%, Disapprove 47%, No Opinion 3% (Gallup, Participants=1,083)
November 7, 2003-Approve 45%, Disapprove 54%, No Opinion 1% (Gallup, Participants=1,007)
October 13, 2003-Approve 47%, Disapprove 50%, No Opinion-3% (Gallup, Participants=1,017)
September 12, 2003-Approve 51%, Disapprove 47%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,025)
August 28, 2003-Approve 57%, Disapprove 41%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,009)
July 29, 2003-Approve 60%, Disapprove 38%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,006)
June 20, 2003-Approve 63%, Disapprove 34%, No Opinion 3% (Gallup, Participants=1,006)
May 9, 2003-Approve 69%, Disapprove 28%, No Opinion 3% (Gallup, Participants=1,005)
April 18, 2003-Approve 76%, Disapprove 21%, No Opinion 3% (Gallup, Participants=1,011)
April 1, 2003-Approve 71%, Disapprove 27%, No Opinion 2% (Gallup, Participants=1,012)
March 27, 2003-Approve 71%, Disapprove 26%, No Opinion 3% (Gallup, Participants=1,008)
March 17, 2003-Approve 56%, Disapprove 41%, No Opinion 3% (Gallup, Participants=1,007)
February 4, 2003-Approve 54%, Disapprove 42%, No Opinion 4% (Gallup, Participants=1,003)
January 7, 2003-Approve 55%, Disapprove 40%, No Opinion 5% (Gallup, Participants-1,000)
Additional sources of value to students interested in the Rally Effect and Pres. George W. Bush:
- Richard Morin and Dan Balz, "Public Says $87 Billion Too Much," Washington Post (Sept. 14, 2003): 1, 6.
- PIPA, the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland issues numerous useful studies on Americans' views of world problems.
- For an interesting comment from the polling agency here, see Gallup's news release of March 25, 2003.