It's Deja Vu All Over Again

George Bush’s flirtation with the highest-ever presidential disapproval rating has an athletic parallel in Barry Bonds’ march toward the home-run crown, a phenomenon that puts Slate's Bruce Reed in mind of two other titans in their respective fields: Richard Nixon and Hank Aaron. The president's racing toward the bottom as a daunting record teeters—is it 1974 or 2007?

Gallup has Bush tied with Nixon this week at 66% disapproval, second in the all-time records only to Harry Truman, who pulled a 67% during the Korean War. His advisers have tried to help, lining up a series of catastrophic decisions, and commuting Scooter Libby's sentence was a solid solo effort. Reed's watching with his baseball glove on. (More Bush approval ratings stories.)