Forty-one percent (41%) of Americans say George W. Bush will go down in history as the worst U.S. President ever, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

But 50% of Americans disagree, despite Bush's record low poll numbers on his job performance.
Given the partisan emotions running high in the Bush years and the ongoing presidential campaign, it’s not surprising to find that the results are heavily weighted by the respondents’ political affiliations. For example, only 9% of Republicans rate Bush the worst president ever compared to 69% of Democrats.

By contrast, 85% of Republicans say Bush is not the worst, but only 21% of Democrats agree.
Over a third (37%) of unaffiliated voters rank him as the worst, but 52% of unaffiliateds do not.

During the month of July, 33% of adults nationwide say they approved of the way that Bush is performing his job -- up one point from the all-time low reached in June.

While 61% of Americans overall say Bush has been bad for the Republican Party, only 28% of Republicans themselves agree. On the other hand, 81% of Democrats – and 68% of unaffiliated voters -- rate the president as bad for the GOP.

Similarly, while 41% rate Bush as very conservative, only 24% of self-designated conservatives feel that way, compared to 64% of liberals and 42% of moderates. In fact, nearly one-quarter of conservatives (24%) rate Bush moderate to very liberal.

Just over half of Americans (51%) say Bush has been bad for the conservative movement, a view shared by 37% of conservatives and 60% of both moderates and liberals.

When asked what Bush will be remembered for most, most Americans (63%) say the war in Iraq, followed by his response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (23%), his handling of the economy (6%) and his nominations to the Supreme Court (2%).

Again, party affiliation speaks volumes. While 73% of Democrats say Bush will be most remembered for the war in Iraq, only 46% of Republicans agree. Thirty-eight percent (38%) of GOP voters think the president will be best remembered for his response to 9/11, a view shared by only 12% of Democrats. Among unaffiliated voters, 66% say the war in Iraq and 22% say the response to 9/11.

Men are slightly more favorable to the president than women. Fifty-two percent (52%) of men say Bush is not the worst president ever, and 48% of women agree. But nearly as many women (43%) say he is the worst, a view shared by only 40% of men.

African-Americans are nearly twice as critical as whites. Sixty percent (60%) of blacks rank Bush as the worst president in U.S. history, but only 36% of whites agree. While just 21% of blacks say Bush is not the worst, over half (55%) of whites feel that way.

Marriage is a factor, too. The majority of married Americans (55%) do not believe Bush is the worst president ever, but 51% of unmarried respondents do.

How will this all play out in the election? Sixty-nine percent (69%) of likely Obama voters and seven percent of potential McCain voters rank Bush as the worst. But 86% of likely McCain voters and 20% of potential Obama voters say no way.

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