On more than one occasion (for example, here and here), I've joked that President Bush is slightly more popular than the Ebola virus. As it turns out, I may have been giving this lamest of lame ducks too much credit.
A new poll from the American Research Group shows that President Bush's approval rating has plummeted to 19%. Fully 77% of Americans disapprove of the job he is doing as President. And when it comes to the sputtering U.S. economy, Americans' record-setting disdain for the current occupant of the White House is even more pronounced. Only 14% approve of the Bush league economy.
According to ARG, Americans' disregard for President Bush is bipartisan. In an age of hyper-partisanship, people across the political spectrum agree that Bush's tenure in the Oval Office deserves failing marks:

Among Republicans (29% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 45% approve of the way Bush is handling his job and 50% disapprove. Among Democrats (43% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 1% approve and 99% disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job. Among independents (28% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 17% approve and 75% disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job as president.

These comatose Bush numbers from ARG are dramatically worse than other recent surveys which revealed merely catatonic approval ratings hovering around 30%. But to fully appreciate the extent of Americans' rejection of George W. Bush, a little context is helpful.
A 2005 Harris poll provides some interesting contrasts. For example, while only 19% of Americans now believe in George W. Bush, 40% believe in ghosts. About one third (34%) believe in UFO's, while 28% believe in witches. One quarter of Americans believe in astrology. Fully 21% believe in reincarnation.
Among the things Americans hate, George W. Bush rates high on the list. People dislike President Bush and their jobs at the same staggering 77% level. In comparison, only 40% of American adults reported hating math during their days in school. Given a choice between two evils, 49% of Americans in 2005 said they would a trip to the dentist versus the 48% who would rather than prepare their tax returns. Luckily for President Bush, he wasn't in an option in that survey.
Undeterred by his current abysmal standing among the American people, George W. Bush believes history may yet be kind to him. As the President comically told Fox News last week:

"It's very hard to write the future history of America before the current history hasn't been fully written."