ARG: Bush Job Approval - 19%

the American Research Group: Bush job approval
Approve Disapprove Undecided
Feb 2008 19% 77% 4%
Jan 2008 34% 59% 7%

This may well be an outlier. Just as Fox and Gallup tend to report relatively high Bush approval numbers, so ARG tends to report relatively low numbers, and when Bush's approval ratings are sliding fast, ARG tends to get ahead of the pack. But, still, if Bush's numbers take a tumble now, they are tumbling after more than a year, under 40%. An apparent basement number of 30% may have sprung a leak.

Update: ARG prefaced the Presidential job approval question, with a series of questions, which drew attention to the economic downturn. Reminding people about just what a terrible President, Bush has been, seems to encourage them to disapprove of him. Surprise!

Seriously, though, this insight is a useful reminder to those political news junkies like me that most people, most voters are not aware of much, don't carry around a lot of history or critical appreciation of politics. Democratic Presidential candidates, in particular, should consider extended narratives recounting the recent political and policy past -- narratives that connect Bush policy with present disaster.