Poll Tracker

Few changes of fortunes in politics has been as dramatic as President Bush's nose-dive in approval ratings since the high standing he established with the public in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

A look at the numbers by the Pew Research Center showed him at 86 percent approval for the way he handled that crisis, a number that slipped in 2002 and 2003 until it bumped up again after the U.S. invasion of Iraq appeared to be successful, leading to Bush's visit to the carrier Abraham Lincoln where, with a "Mission Accomplished" banner in the background, the President declared major combat in Iraq at an end. (The banner had been put up by the White House advance team, but Bush distanced himself from it, sensitive to criticism that such a declaration was premature). But his approval numbers rose back up, to 75 percent.

After the 2004 election, it was all downhill, with Bush never again getting above the 50 percent mark. Events like the federal handling of Hurricane Katrina, the beating Republicans took in the 2006 midterm elections and the Walter Reed Hospital story greased the skid until Bush hit bottom during the current economic crisis, languishing around 25 percent.