ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 30 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent Harris Poll(1) found that George W. Bush's approval rating had fallen to its lowest point of his Presidency, with 28 percent of U.S. adults giving his job performance positive ratings and 70 percent rating him negatively. But just how does this compare to previous Presidents? As the Harris Poll has been measuring the popularity of all presidents since President Lyndon B. Johnson on a regular basis, we thought it would be interesting to compare President Bush's highest and lowest ratings with those of his predecessors.

Comparing Presidents' Best Ratings

President Bush received his highest ever ratings (88% positive, 11% negative) in October 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. No other President has achieved such high ratings in the 40-year history of The Harris Poll. After the first Gulf War in 1991, President George H.W. Bush was rated 83 percent positive, 16 percent negative. And, President Lyndon Johnson was twice rated 78 percent positive, 22 percent negative in 1964. The only other president to break the 70 percent positive mark was President Ronald Reagan (71% positive, 29% negative) in 1985.

Richard Nixon's best rating, 62 percent positive, 34 percent negative, was the lowest of all the eight presidents covered.

Comparing Presidents' Worst Ratings

The lowest ratings recorded by any President over the last 43 years was for Jimmy Carter (22% positive, 77% negative) in 1980, a few months before he failed to win re-election. The second lowest ratings were for President Richard Nixon in 1974, shortly before he resigned, at 26 percent positive, and 71 percent negative.

President George W. Bush's lowest ratings (28% positive, 70% negative) are therefore better than the worst numbers reached by Presidents Carter and Nixon. However, President George W. Bush's lowest ratings are worse than those of the other five presidents listed. Their lowest ratings were:

Positive Negative President Lyndon B. Johnson 38% 62% President Ronald Reagan 38% 61% President Bill Clinton 35% 63% President Gerald Ford 30% 67% President George H.W. Bush 29% 70% TABLE 1 PRESIDENTS BEST AND WORST RATINGS Date Best Worst George W. Bush October 2001 88%-11% April 2007 28%-70% Bill Clinton December 2000 69%-29% June 1993 35%-63% George H.W. Bush March 1991 83%-16% July 1992 29%-70% Ronald Reagan October 1985 71%-29% April 1982 38%-61% Jimmy Carter April 1977 69%-27% July 1980 22%-77% Gerald Ford September 1974 67%-20% November 1975 30%-67% Richard Nixon October 1969 62%-34% March, June & August 1974 26%-71% Lyndon Johnson May & October 1964 78%-22% March 1968 38%-62% Note: The Harris Poll uses the question "How would you rate the overall job President Bush (or other presidents) is doing as president, excellent, pretty good, only fair or poor." Those saying excellent or pretty good are summarized as "positive." Those saying only fair or poor are labeled negative. Other polling firms may use different questions - for example: do you approve or disapprove of the job the President is doing? All Harris Interactive presidential approval surveys were conducted by telephone among various samples of U.S. adults. About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is the 12th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiaries Novatris in France and MediaTransfer AG in Germany, and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at http://www.harrisinteractive.com.to/ become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to participate in online surveys, register at http://www.harrispollonline.com/.

(1) Harris Poll #36, President Bush's Job Performance at Lowest Ever in Harris Poll, April 26, 2007.

Press Contact: Tracey McNerney Harris Interactive 585-214-7756

Harris Interactive Inc. 05/07

CONTACT: Tracey McNerne of Harris Interactive, +1-585-214-7756

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