According to a recent survey by Badger Poll, President Bush's extremely high popularity among Wisconsin residents is slowly in decline. His overall approval rating shows a slight decrease since last June with partisan divisions over a possible invasion of Iraq once again in place.
Results also show a sharp contrast of opinion between his highly popular \war on terrorism"" and his less exalted handling of the economy.
The poll, a random survey of 500 Wisconsin residents with a 4 percent margin of error, was conducted between Sept. 17 and Sept. 25 to follow-up similar polls in June and March. In general, the president's numbers are still extremely high; 65 percent of state residents think he is doing an ""excellent"" job, down from 69 percent in June. His approval ratings are strongest where terrorism is concerned, with a full 57 percent of Democrats and 90 percent of Republicans considering his terrorism efforts excellent as well. The president's popularity regarding the economy is less uniform, with 83 percent of Democrats and 36 percent of Republicans saying he has done only a ""fair"" or ""poor"" job in managing the slump. The war with Iraq drew lower figures as well, though results were largely uniform across age groups, and gender, with men being slightly more supportive of Bush's military endeavors.
Acknowledging the division between issues of war abroad and economic decline at home, Badger Poll Director Donald Ferree said he believes the poll is not conclusive.
""It shows that the president has areas of strength and weakness,"" he said. ""Obviously the war on terrorism is his strongest area. But the decline regarding the economy is very marked.""
Comparisons between former president Bill Clinton and Bush were largely split along party lines. While 90 percent of Republicans believe Bush is doing ""a better job"" than Clinton, only 28 percent of Democrats concurred. Regardless, 54 percent of Democrats and 71 percent of Republicans agreed that ""big changes"" in policy have been made since the Clinton presidency.
Ferree said interpretations of the results seem to be favorable for the president.
""I think it shows the president has substantial reservoir support,"" Ferree said. ""There's been some diminution of support, but not much.""
According to UW Political Science Professor David Canon, the decrease in overall popularity can be partially attributed to the war with Iraq, as well as the failing economy.
""The focus is on Iraq. At first, [the president] had a lot of support behind him; now support is a little softer, especially if we end up acting unilaterally,"" he said.
Despite the lowered support, Canon said he doesn't think the poll or similar sentiments nationwide are very dramatic or likely to affect Bush's policy.
""His numbers have held up pretty well. That small [of] a change is probably not significant,"" he said.
