Analysis: Majority welcome end of Bush era
Ξ January 16th, 2009 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Uncategorized |
WASHINGTON (CNN) — For most Americans, the Bush era is ending not a moment too soon.
Most Americans are happy President Bush is leaving the White House.
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As President Bush prepares to leave office, three quarters of Americans have a parting thought: "Good riddance."
Asked their view of President Bush at the end of his presidency, 75 percent said they are glad he is leaving, according to a CNN-Opinion Research Corporation poll taken in December. Only 23 percent said they will miss him.
It’s been like a failed marriage. Things started out well. When President Bush first took office, more than 60 percent saw him as strong and decisive.
That impression was re-enforced after the September 11, 2001,attacks when the president stood at Ground Zero and declared, "The people who knocked these buildings down will hear from all of us soon.”
View iconic images from the Bush presidency »
Bush’s image of resolve got him re-elected in 2004, when terrorism was the dominant concern. More than 60 percent of Americans continued to see Bush as strong and decisive when he started his second term in 2005.
No more. There is a fine line between resolve and stubbornness, and Bush seems to have crossed it.
Now only 45 percent consider Bush a strong leader.
Bush did once have a reputation as a good manager (61 percent in 2001). Then came Hurricane Katrina in 2005. And Bush’s reputation as a manager got blown away. Last month, only 25 percent said he has managed government effectively.
View a timeline of key moments in Bush’s presidency »
Bush got elected on a promise. "I think that people look for someone who is a uniter, not a divider,” he said when he first ran for president.
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But the vast majority of Americans now think he betrayed that promise. Only 17 percent now believe Bush united the country.
"I think one of the big disappointments of the presidency has been the fact that the tone in Washington got worse, not better,” Bush told ABC News. "The tone was rough," Bush said, "and I was obviously partially responsible because I was the president."
Even some conservatives feel betrayed. Evangelical leader Pat Robertson said, "I think we’ve had some serious goofs along the way. The Katrina matter
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