CBS Poll: Bush Approval at Record Low for Second Week

President Bush has held the lowest job approval rating of any president in U.S. history for a second straight week, a new CBS poll claims.

The CBS survey, released today, reports a 22 percent approval rating for Bush. That number has held steady since CBS’s last poll, released last Wednesday, which placed Bush in a tie with Harry Truman for the lowest approval rating of all time. Truman received a 22 percent rating in February 1952.

An average of major polls now gives Bush a 25 percent approval rating, as the president fared better in three other polls released today. A CNN/Opinion Research poll gave Bush a 24 percent rating, while Gallup reported a 25 percent rating and an NBC/Wall Street Journal survey showed Bush’s rating at 29 percent.

Bush’s approval rating hovered around 30 percent in early September, with polls differing over the number, but the president’s popularity has dipped since the financial crisis, and the government’s $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan, began to dominate national discussion several weeks ago.