36% (NBC/WSJ)

The Chimp in Winter (Now a Spring of Discontent)

President Bush's approval rating goes down a point from last month to 36% in the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.

But the troubling news for Bush doesn’t stop there: Hart explains that Bush has now spent nine consecutive months at 40 percent or below in the poll, a feat exceeded only by Richard Nixon (13 months) and Harry Truman (26 months).

[Pollster Bill] McInturff adds that it will be difficult for the president to substantially improve his standing, barring an increase in stability in Iraq or some kind of “extraordinary” event taking place.

[...]

[J]ust 24 percent believe the nation is headed in the right direction, a drop of two points since last month and seven points since January. What’s more, only 17 percent think the nation’s economy will improve in the next 12 months, a decline of seven points since March.