Lame-Duck Bounce Boosts Bush in Final Gallup Poll

President Bush’s approval rating has jumped to 34 percent in the final Gallup poll of his presidency.

Bush’s approval rating had been 29 percent for most of his final year in office. It was down to 25 percent right before the November election.

Other presidents have seen a jump in their Gallup approval ratings between the election and the inauguration of their successors. Bush’s father, President George H.W. Bush, saw his approval rating increase by 22 percentage points. Presidents Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and Lyndon Johnson also saw lame-duck bounces.

Most of the country — 61 percent — still disapproves of the job that George W. Bush has done. His disapproval rating his higher than any other president polled by Gallup aside from President Richard Nixon, whose final disapproval rating was 66 percent.