In the final full month of his Presidency, just 13% of American adults said they Strongly Approved of the way that George W. Bush performed his job as president. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapproved. That gives the President a -30 rating on the Presidential Approval Index (daily updates are available along with ratings of the President-elect).

Overall, 35% say that they at least somewhat approve of way the President has handled his job. That’s unchanged from November and among the lowest monthly ratings ever earned by the President.

Bush’s overall approval rating had never fallen below 35% before April of this year. However, it has now been below that level for six of the last nine months.

The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve. Rasmussen Reports believes that this is a better measure of public perceptions than the overall approval ratings. The Index is updated daily for both President Bush and President-elect Obama. Obama’s ratings are currently based upon the way he is handling the role of President-elect.

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Rasmussen Reports updates the President's Job Approval on a monthly basis based upon nightly telephone interviews with 500 adults. In any review of job approval data, the trends are more important than the precise number. Many factors, especially question wording, can impact the particular approval rating percentage.