Bush approval rating still at 25 percent in California

With just months to go in his presidency, George W. Bush isn't getting any increase in good vibes from the beleaguered Golden State.

According to a new Field Poll, Bush's approval rating in California is 25 percent, virtually unchanged from poll readings going back all the way to March 2007.

More than two-thirds, or 68 percent, of registered voters surveyed disapprove of the job the president is doing. That, too, is consistent with Field Poll findings over the last two years.

Respondents gave Bush's inability to meet the task of being president as the major reason for his lack of success in the role, with 59 percent agreeing with the statement, "The primary reason Bush has not performed well is that his personal capabilities have not been up to the level required for the job."

A little less than half of registered voters, or 47 percent, agreed with the statement that Bush has experienced difficulty as a result of facing unusually difficult situations while president.

Republicans tended to favor the second statement more, while Democrats overwhelmingly agreed with the first.

Bush's California approval ratings in the twilight of his presidency are also lower than the last four presidents that preceded him, including one-term presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush, his father.

The survey was conducted between Sept. 5 and Sept. 14 through random telephone calls in both English and Spanish of 1,008 registered voters across the state. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.2 percentage points for questions asked of all voters and 4.5 percentage points for subgroups within the sample.