Former President George W. Bush’s Favorability in the Positive for First Time Since 2005

George W. Bush, do you miss me yet?

According to a recent Gallup poll, former President George W. Bush has a higher favorable than unfavorable for the first time since 2005. When Bush left office in January 2009, he has a 40% favorably and 59% unfavorably. It was even worse than that one later. However, according to the most recent poll GWB has a 49% favorable and 46% unfavorable view. George W. Bush has pretty much stayed out of the public eye since leaving office and has remained quiet when it comes to politics and his successor. One has to wonder whether the current occupant of the White House will do the same. With the current state of affairs with the numerous scandals in the Obama administration, a continued poor economy, record number of Americans on Food Stamps, median household income down, and a Middle East that is on fire many Americans probably will pose the question to themselves, “Miss Me Yet?”

GWB did some things that were questionable in the eyes of conservatives and did escalate the US national debt; however, it was nothing compared to Barack Obama as he has skyrocketed the debt to out of control limits. Bush’s favorability is making a come back, but he has a long way to go. Many have said, history will be more kind to “W” as we look back on his presidency and realize he had to make many tough decisions that were important to protect America but was not popular for him.

Americans’ views of former president George W. Bush have improved, with 49% now viewing him favorably and 46% unfavorably. That is the first time since 2005 that opinions of him have been more positive than negative.

Bush has maintained a fairly low profile in the four years since he left office. However, he returned to the public eye this year with the April opening of his presidential library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Bush left office with 40% viewing him favorably and 59% unfavorably in January 2009. That worsened to 35% favorable and 63% unfavorable in March 2009, but his favorable rating recovered to the mid-40% range by 2010.

CNN: America starting to remember “W” fondly.

Breaking it down further, Bush has seen improvement among independents and both political parties. Twenty-four percent of Democrats view him in a positive light, according to the new survey, compared to 10% in January 2009. Republicans saw a 14 percentage point jump, with 84% now having a positive opinion of Bush.

The biggest increase came among independents. While 29% gave him a favorable rating in 2009, that number now stands at 46%.