No Bounce

The latest Gallup Poll has a message for Democrats and yes a message for Joe Lieberman. The latest terror threat had little or no impact on Bush's approval rating.

PRINCETON, NJ -- The latest Gallup Poll finds George W. Bush's presidential job approval rating at 37%, consistent with recent polling. His approval rating has bounced between 36% and 40% since early June, after hitting a personal low of 31% in May.

In the Aug. 7-10, 2006 Gallup Poll, 37% of Americans say they approve and 59% disapprove of the job Bush is doing as president. He has averaged 38% approval since the beginning of June, after averaging 32% in May.

It is unclear what impact the recent terrorism developments will have on Bush's public support, though the initial indications are that it will not help much. While the poll was in the field, British officials broke up a terrorist plot to use liquid explosives to blow up airplanes traveling between Great Britain and the United States. Most of the poll's interviews were conducted before this news broke, but interviews conducted after the news became public were only slightly more favorable to Bush than those conducted before. Newsweek and CBS News polls conducted entirely after the revelation of the thwarted attack show Bush with 38% and 36% approval ratings, respectively.

One interesting bit of data from this poll is that only 63% of those who identify themselves as "conservative" now support Bush. As Glenn Greenwald pointed out yesterday even the über wingnuts are now jumping ship. The Rovian tactic of accusing those who don't support Bush policies as being terrorist sympathizers may backfire when they make up 60% of the population. The best way to defeat Joe Lieberman in November may be to use his own words to point out that he is little but a George W. Bush groupie, a follower of a failed policy - an ill conceived ideology. As the Republicans continue to run from Bush Lieberman continues to follow.