George W. Bush's Approval Rating Sees Improvement

First time since 2005 more Americans like him than don't

For the first time since 2005, Americans like former president George W. Bush more than they dislike him, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday.

The poll, based on telephone interviews from June 1-4 with 1,529 adults, gave Bush an approval rating of 49 percent, compared with a 46 percent unfavorable rating. (Though the polls have a standard deviation of 3 points.)

Gallup's Jeffrey M. Jones said the increased approval rating is fairly typical of ex-presidents, though Bush still lags far behind his predecessors.