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President's Approval Ratings
George W. Bush is popular in the GOP heartland. A majority of county
residents (57%) approve of his performance as president, while 36 percent
disapprove. The ratio of approval to disapproval in Orange County is
higher than the ratio in the national survey by CBS/New York Times in
late August (50% to 38%) and much higher than in the PPIC Statewide
Survey in July (47% to 43%).
Bush has the solid support of Republican voters, and a slim majority
of independent voters like the job he is doing in office. Three in 10
Democrats approve of Bush. These results are similar to the ratings
given by Democrats and Republicans in the July PPIC survey. Independent
voters in Orange County, however, are more likely to support Bush than
are independents in the state as a whole (51% to 42%).
Despite the signs of weakness in the national economy, President Bush
appears to be taking little blame, so far. Opinions of his performance
with respect to the economy are virtually identical to his overall performance
ratings. Fifty-six percent approve and 36 percent disapprove of his
handling of the economy. Democrats are highly negative (62%), and Republicans
are overwhelmingly positive (78%). A slim majority of independent voters
(52%) approve of the job he is doing with the economy. There is little
in the way of demographic differences for these presidential ratings:
Even Latinos, who tend to be Democratic, were just as approving as non-Hispanic
whites, both overall and in terms of the president's handling of economic
issues.
Table:
President's Approval Ratings
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