And Bush didn’t have a fawning MSM to help pump up his numbers.
(CNSNews.com) — President George W. Bush got a bigger bounce in his Gallup job approval rating for capturing Saddam Hussein than President Barack Obama got for killing Osama in Laden.
Obama got a 6-point bounce in his Gallup job approval after he announced that U.S. Navy SEALS had raided a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan and killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Bush got either a 7-point or a 9-point bounce—depending on the day you calculate from (Gallup used both figures) — after he announced that U.S. forces in Iraq had captured alive former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Obama’s approval rating was at 46 percent for the three-day period ending on April 30 and again for the three-day period ending on May 1. Late on Sunday, May 1, Obama announced U.S. forces had killed bin Laden. After that, Obama’s job approval climbed for three straight days, peaking at 52 percent for the three-day period ending on May 4.
“Americans’ approval of President Barack Obama is up six points after the death of Osama bin Laden in a U.S. raid on the al Qaeda leader’s Pakistan compound,” Gallup reported on May 5.
However, Obama’s post-bin-Laden approval remained at its 52 percent peak for just one day.
For the three day period ending on May 5, Obama’s job approval dropped back down to 51 percent and has remained at that level for the three-day periods ending on May 6, 7, and 8.
Depending on the day you start counting, President George W. Bush’s job approval jumped either 9 points or 7 points following his announcement that U.S. troops had captured Saddam. Gallup used both figures.
Bush announced on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2003, that Saddam Hussein had been found literally hiding in a hole in the ground in Iraq. On that very day, Bush’s job approval started rising.
“Bush’s approval is now at 63%, the highest since last June, and seven percentage points higher than what Gallup obtained in a Dec. 11–14 poll,” Gallup reported on Dec. 18, 2003 — citing a poll conducted on Dec. 15–16, 2003.
“Bush’s job approval rating started to gain on Sunday, Dec. 14, the day of the announcement,” Gallup said. “If interviews for that day are excluded, Bush’s pre-Hussein capture approval rating, obtained on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday was actually 54%, suggesting his approval rallied by nine points.”