… There’s nothing that remarkable — or unique — about a first-term president hitting a soft patch early in his tenure. New presidents often confront a crisis they didn’t expect. …
The bigger question, however, is whether a president can recover after early stumbles. This is even more relevant in this ultra-polarized era where a president starts with unified support from his base, but a shallow reservoir of “benefit of the doubt” from the opposite party or independent voters. In other words, a president doesn’t get much of a bump in approval rating when things go well, and he doesn’t get much sympathy when he messes up (or is perceived to have messed up). CONTINUED
Amy Walter, Cook Political Report with Amy Walter
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