The Bush popularity boom

With only a few days left on his stewardship of our fading empire, our boy emperor is seeing a popularity boom. Since November, George has risen 9 points from an abysmal 25% to an abysmal 34%. The cause for this outpouring of affection? Republicans. See they've come back around on the boy, moving their opinion of him from the 55% they registered back in October, back to the mid/high seventies. Independents have moved from the mid twenties to the high twenties, and good ole Democrats have kept their opinion of George Bush right in the single digits. I guess the GOP has come around on the kid, fantasizing about him in his flight suit and remembering that while he may have destroyed the country, Bush did ram two far right judges onto the Supreme Court.

Unfortunately for the number wonks, Bush at 34% means he is no longer the most unpopular President ever to leave office. Truman clocked in at a 32% and Nixon slid into home with a 24%. Bush only finished with the second highest disapproval number, a 61% to Nixon's 66%. Bush even failed at failing. But that's more on us, America. What does a man have to do to be less popular than Nixon? Because whatever it is, Bush has certainly done enough to deserve it. Or do Americans just hate warrantless wiretapping, torture, war, Katrina, and Dick Cheney less than they hate shoddy burglaries?

Unfortunately the fact that Truman and Nixon are on that list is going to give Bushie hope, as both have seen their image rehabilitated over the years. Truman by the fact that people came to respect his integrity and that no one gives a shit about MacArthur getting fired or McCarthyism anymore, Nixon because of the existence of the George W. Bush presidency. So take heed George, there's an outside shot people will respect your integrity (say if we're ruled by brutish barbarian overlords for 1000 years) or if people decide that we have a President that's even worse than you and therefore come to hate you less. Cross those fingers.