Can Obama raise his job-approval ratings enough for a political recovery?

Here’s a surprisingly complex question: Can President Obama recover, politically speaking? And if so, what would that recovery look like? The president is mired in the worst extended polling dip of his five years in office, dragged down by a series of scandals (National Security Agency spying, IRS targeting) and […] Read more »

Obama, Clinton Continue Reign as Most Admired

For the sixth consecutive year, Barack Obama ranks as the Most Admired Man among Americans, and Hillary Clinton is again the Most Admired Woman. Both won by comfortable margins. Sixteen percent named Obama, compared with 4% each for former President George W. Bush and Pope Francis; Clinton (15%) finished ahead […] Read more »

Chris Christie’s Midterm Marker

Probably no election this year has been more important to the presidential politics of 2016 than Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s landslide 60% reelection victory in Democratic-leaning New Jersey. It cemented his place in the front ranks of Republican presidential contenders by demonstrating his vote-getting appeal to constituencies that the GOP […] Read more »

Damage Control

Hardly a day or two goes by that a new poll isn’t released showing President Obama with the lowest job-approval rating of his presidency. … Democrats and Obama-backers protest loudly when any comparisons are drawn between the debacle surrounding the launch and first impressions of the Affordable Care Act and […] Read more »

JFK tops presidential rankings for last 50 years

John F. Kennedy is the most popular president of the last half century, according to a new national poll A CNN/ORC International survey released Friday indicates that 90% of all Americans approve of how Kennedy handled his job as President. No other President of the last half century even comes […] Read more »