Throughout President Barack Obama’s sixth full year in office, an average of 79% of Democrats, compared with 9% of Republicans, approved of the job he was doing. That 70-percentage-point party gap in approval ratings ties for the fifth-most-polarized year for a president in Gallup records dating back to 1953. CONT. […] Read more »
The Simple Reason Why Republican Voters Aren’t Settling for Jeb Bush
On the right, the return of Mitt Romney—which I prefer to call the Romneyssiance—has sparked fresh new debates about why Jeb Bush was ever the great 2016 GOP hope. Why does he inspire such skepticism, from the right and the center-right, when his brother didn’t? … This discussion excises a […] Read more »
How Barack Obama is avoiding becoming George W. Bush
… While Obama has certainly been battered over his six years, he can at least say this: He’s in considerably better shape than his predecessor, George W. Bush, heading into the home stretch. While Obama’s and Bush’s numbers rivaled each other for the better part of the middle of their […] Read more »
Obama no longer underwater on his approval
Something remarkable just happened to Barack Obama’s poll numbers: For the first time since September 2013 — over 450 days ago — as many people approve of his job performance as disapprove. CONT. Philip Bump, Washington Post Recent polls: Obama’s job rating Read more »
How the Great Wage Slowdown Hurts Democrats
It’s a simple rule: A weak economy makes for an unpopular president. President Obama is on course to become the fourth president of the last six to leave office with an approval rating well below 50 percent. Each of the previous three — both Bushes and Jimmy Carter — also […] Read more »
Obama job rating flat after midterm losses, unlike Bush, Ike, Truman
The midterm elections that handed losses to many Democrats across the country haven’t resulted in much change for President Obama’s approval rating – it has barely moved in over a year and remains at 43%. … While Obama’s recent job approval isn’t high by historical standards, his second-term numbers overall […] Read more »