That’s a new low for Bush’s approvals in the Newsweek poll. Lowest since President Carter. Bad news for George Bush? Well, that depends on whether you think that 28% will continue to stand behind him as is the conventional wisdom. Myself? I have faith that all records must fall, and that Mr. Bush can challenge Richard Nixon with that legendary 23% approval rating.

There are still scandals to play out. Indeed, there are reminders of scandals past coming up. Libby is sentenced next month, and there will be a bunch of whining surrounding that event. The AttorneyGate issue is likely near a breakthrough. Jack Abramoff’s associates keep getting caught. And Iraq is going so far south it must seem north to those soldiers. Yeah, the trendline for Bush is not good at all. He’s got a shot at that 23%. Newsweek has other ominous things to say about Mr. Bush:

A majority of Americans believe Bush is not politically courageous: 55 percent vs. 40 percent. And nearly two out of three Americans (62 percent) believe his recent actions in Iraq show he is “stubborn and unwilling to admit his mistakes,” compared to 30 percent who say Bush’s actions demonstrate that he is “willing to take political risks to do what’s right.”

When a man is not seen as courageous, and it is clear that vast majorities of Americans think so, it is certainly hard on the Republican candidates who seek to replace him. I’ve got to think that it isn’t too long until one of those candidates realizes that he must run against George Bush, as that is fueling much of the success of the Democratic candidates. When that happens, the 28% will start to become convinced that George Bush is a pretty rotten horse to continue riding. When the Republican candidates start going after Bush in a meaningful way, and they will as the polls continue to show them with luke warm approvals, then Bush will have a chance to match Nixon at 23%.