As Bush heads into his State of the Union speech tonight he faces a variety of humiliating poll numbers.

A CNN poll shows a seething electorate, with 61% saying the country is going in the wrong direction. 64% say Bush is a divider not a uniter, and 55% call his presidency an absolute failure. 51% trust Bush less than Clinton, and rather amusingly 67% say Bush has done something to piss them off since he took office.

The Washington Post points out that only twice in the last 60 years has a president given his State of the Union speech while in a position weaker than where Bush finds himself today: Truman during the Korean War in 1952, and Nixon during Watergate. Its poll reveals that 51% strongly disapprove of Bush’s performance, and solid majorities of Americans say Bush cannot be trusted in a crisis, has not made the country safer, and should withdraw troops from Iraq rather than add to them. 65% percent oppose the troop increase, and a huge 71% say the country is seriously off-track.

The heavy judgment of history is starting to weigh like a yoke on Bush during his remaining time in office, and it’s not looking pretty.

Tags: bush, poll