Bush approval below 40 percent again

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WASHINGTON, April 9 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush's approval rating has stayed below 40 percent for a seventh consecutive month, a USA Today/Gallup Poll said.

USA Today reported Monday that two other presidents have had longer periods of low approval ratings since modern polling began -- one was Richard Nixon in the 13 months leading up to his resignation during the Watergate scandal and the other was Harry Truman during his final 26 months in office and the Korean War.

Bush's approval rating in a poll taken last Monday through Thursday was 38 percent, USA Today reported.

"It's pretty hard for a president to get ratings this low in general and then to be in the position where you basically don't budge -- that's been reserved for some of the least popular presidents during the worst times of the last 60 years," Jeffrey Jones of the Gallup Poll told USA Today.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told the newspaper that the president pays little attention to polls.

"If we're reviewing consecutive streaks, one of the most impressive is our 60-plus months of economic growth and 42 months of job creation," she said.