9/11 and Presidential Support in the 107th Congress

Abstract

Immediately following the tragic events of 9/11, President George W. Bush's approval rating shot from 51% to 86%; a record 35-point rally effect according to the Gallup Poll. President Bush set another record on September 24th, 2001, as 90% of Americans approved of his performance. If public support is indeed an important president's legislative resource, President Bush should have been his most influential during his record rally. To get a sense for President Bush's support in Congress following 9/11, I examine how members of Congress (MCs) voted on issues in which President Bush took a position in the 107th Congress. I analyze 83 votes identified by the Congressional Quarterly to determine the effect of 9/11 on presidential support in Congress. I find that MCs’ support for President Bush did in fact increase immediately following 9/11. But the unequivocal support did not last long. Despite still high approval ratings, President Bush's congressional support returned to pre-9/11 levels in 2002. These findings, I believe, have important implications for the study of rally effects specifically and congressional-executive relations in general.