Although on the ropes politically, George Bush can console himself with the thought that he does not have to run for re-election.
But this luxury does not apply to those Republicans facing the midterm elections in November 2006. Although still over a year away, you can bet that political strategists among Democrats and Republicans are trying to weigh the impact of the Mr Bush's deepening woes on the electoral landscape.
Currently, the Republicans control both houses in Congress. In the Senate, they have 55 seats to the Democrats' 44, with one independent.
In the House of Representatives, the party's majority is 231-202, with one independent. Thirty-four of 50 governors also face election battles.
With Mr Bush's popularity plummeting, it is a safe bet that congressional Republicans will not be relying on hanging on to the president's coat-tails.
If his ratings continue to bump along in the low 40s - as they have in the past two months - he could be a greater liability to Republican candidates than Bill Clinton was in 1994, when the Republicans seized control of both houses.
The latest CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll makes grim reading for the Republicans. The poll reports levels of dissatisfaction with Congress not seen since 1994, and says the president could be the Republicans' "liability-in-chief" as the party attempts to retain control of Capitol Hill.
Gallup's October 13-16 poll showed an overall rating of Congress standing at only 29%. The last time this figure fell below 30% was in 1994, when a Republican wave swept away the entrenched Democratic majority.
To some Republican strategists, the numbers herald trouble next year.
"As angry and pissed off as we were in 1994 about politics, I think it's worse today," Frank Luntz, a Republican strategist who helped his party capture Congress in 1994, told the San Jose Mercury News. "This House of Representatives' Republican majority is in jeopardy."
Of course, these are early days - Mr Bush can bounce back and lift his party, but it is difficult to see much upside in the coming months.
Disenchantment with the Iraq adventure mounts with each American death, despite Mr Bush's talks of political progress there.
On the home front, Republicans are less than enthusiastic with his pick for the supreme court, Harriet Miers.
Meanwhile, on bread and butter issues, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates as inflation creeps up - a move that will put pressure on consumers and companies.
What the Republicans do have going for them, however, is the power of incumbency. Traditionally, it is hard to prise sitting members out of Congress. Moreover, next year may be tougher than usual for the Democrats to overturn the Republican majority.
The redistricting process and the realignment of conservative voters and politicians toward Republicans has left few districts torn politically between support for a president from one party and a House member from another.
When Ronald Reagan swept to a second term in 1984, for instance, 196 House districts backed one party for president and another for the House. In 2004, only 59 districts delivered split verdicts.
Democratic gains will also depend on a re-energised Democratic party - but the party appears to be having problems coming up with an inspiring message.
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