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 »

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 »

Partisans’ Historical Assessments of Obama, Bush Differ Most

In assessing the legacies of the last 11 U.S. presidents, Republicans and Democrats diverge most in how history will judge Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. Republicans believe Obama will be judged worst among recent presidents, while Democrats predict Bush will. At the same time, Republicans expect Bush to […] Read more »

Are We There Yet?

… The second inaugurals we remember bear witness to political realignment. The words of Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, in particular, testify to the closing of one era and the opening of another. In 1936 and 1984, Roosevelt and Reagan each won big. Their triumphs consolidated political transformations that had been […] Read more »

Romney’s Debate Win Doesn’t Make It 1980 Again

Mitt Romney’s winning performance in last week’s presidential debate has reinforced his campaign’s belief that this election parallels the one in 1980: In troubled times, Republicans inevitably defeat an unpopular Democratic president. While Romney gets to hit the reset button after President Barack Obama’s desultory display, he’d better not count […] Read more »