Ex-President Bush’s popularity climbing

March 16, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

McClatchy Newspapers

FORT WORTH, Texas

More than a year after President George W. Bush left the White House, some people are getting a little sentimental about him.

Several weeks ago, a billboard popped up in Minnesota featuring a cheery picture of Bush smiling and waving, next to the phrase “Miss me yet?”

Now, T-shirts, hats, coffee mugs and other items featuring the same photo and phrase are selling on the Internet at a steady clip.

This is a far friendlier reception than when Bush left office Jan. 20, 2009, with an approval rating of 22 percent — the lowest for a president in at least 70 years. It also comes after a year of Democratic-led initiatives in Congress, including federal stimulus projects and proposed health-care reform.

“There are those who may have disagreed with President Bush on a few issues,” said Stephanie Klick, Tarrant County, Texas, Republican chairwoman. “Now that we have President [Barack] Obama, many would prefer President Bush to be in office again.”

Since leaving office, Bush has maintained a low-key lifestyle in Dallas.

Now that Bush isn’t in the news daily, some people may be feeling differently about him. His favorability rating last month was 38 percent, according to a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics survey. Among Texas GOPers, though, his favorability is up to 79 percent, according to a poll last month by Public Policy Polling.

Last week, 13 of the top 100 items sold online by CafePress featured the “Miss me yet?” Bush design. An average of 500 of these items are sold each day. The site now has more than 7,700 “Miss me yet?” designs, compared with 1,320 in February, company spokesman Marc Cowlin said.

Obama himself has faced slumping job approval ratings, which dropped from 69 percent in February 2009 to 47 percent last week.

Some say the popularity of Obama merchandise, which flew off the shelves before and immediately after his inauguration last year, has waned, a trend that many expected.