One word to describe Bush

For the last few years, the Pew Research Center has included an interesting question in its national political surveys: “Please tell me what one word best describes your impression of

George W. Bush. Tell me just the one best word that describes him.” Those conducting the poll did not offer choices for respondents to choose from; it was open-ended.

In February 2004, the responses were generally very positive. The top three were “honest,” “fair,” and “leader.” In fact, of the top 10 most common responses, eight were complementary, including “strong,” “excellent,” and “integrity.”

A year later, in February 2005, the responses weren’t quite as good. “Honest” and “good” were still on top, but now words like “arrogant,” “incompetent,” and “idiot” were all in the top eight.
In its latest survey (.pdf), the Pew Research Center found less encouraging words rising to the top.
1. Incompetent

2. Arrogant

2. (tie) Honest

4. Good

5. Idiot

6. Integrity

6. (tie) Leader

8. Strong

9. Stupid

10. Ignorant

I thought I’d add that “ass” wasn’t too far behind, at #13.