… On its face, presidential approval is a deceptively simple idea. Various polls provide us with near-daily estimates of the percentage of citizens who say they approve of the way the president is handling his job. But when we start to think about the factors that could influence presidential approval, things get complicated fast. Presidential approval isn’t just about whether people like the president or his policies. …
Given this complexity, how do we understand Obama’s current approval numbers (around 44%)? How do we figure out relevant points of comparison and conceptualize what approval means at this point in a presidential term, in this kind of political environment? How do we reasonably compare Obama’s current approval rating to numbers from other points during his presidency, or to different presidents facing similar circumstances? CONT.
Julia Azari (Marquette), The Mischiefs of Faction
Recent polls: President Obama