Today's Daily Pulse focuses on Presidents' poll ratings, and puts President Bush's current slump into historical context. The data are interesting, but I think there is one more data point that should be added: a comparison of the President's popularity to that of Congress.
You hear a lot about Bush's relatively low approval ratings, but very little about Congress's. But Congress's are worse. Currently, President Bush's Real Clear Politics average is 36.5%. Congress's is 35.7%. To some extent, that comparison is unfair because Presidents tend to be more popular than Congresses. But it's noteworthy that Congress's rating has improved very little since the Democrats took control in January; there hasn't been much of a honeymoon.
To some degree, I suspect that low ratings for both the executive and legislative branches are a sign of the times; the voters are surly. Whether that surliness is a reasonable reaction to events, or something else, is a subject for another day.
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It Could Be Worse
Posted Apr 9th 2007 7:24PM by John Hinderaker
Filed under: Politics, George Bush, Power Line, Democrats, Republicans
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Mo Rocca appears on a bunch of shows, including CBS News Sunday Morning (with the indescribably wonderful Charles Osgood), The Tonight Show on NBC, and NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! He's a sometime judge on Iron Chef and was featured on Telemundo's Amore Descarado. Last year he starred on Broadway in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His expose "All the President's Pets" was published by Crown in 2004.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 2)
1. Yeah, it could be worse. We could have the entire administration filled with graduates from Messiah College, Regents University, Hillsdale College, and Bob Jones University.
Oh wait, we do.
Webster Hubble Telescope at 9:29PM on Apr 9th 2007
2. Low polls for Presidents generally means the President is leading and not following popular opinion. A second term President has little or no obligation to follow popular opinion. Popular opinion means the President is FOLLOWING. In issues of ship-of-state popular positions look more like the UN than a nation of character.
I just wished GW could be a little more articulate.
www.revealingiraq.com
Mike Baumann at 10:43AM on Apr 10th 2007
3. Webster Hubble Telescope:
Evidently, by "the entire administration," you mean everyone except for the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, National Security Advisor, Attorney General, the former Attorney General, Director of the CIA (current and former -- all of them), Director of National Intelligence, Director of the FBI... and the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, HHS, Homeland Security, HUD, Interior, Labor, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs.
Oh wait, that would be all of them.
So I guess to Mr. Telescope, "the entire administration" equals poor, old Monica Goodling, Director of Public Affairs for the United States Department of Justice.
You seem to be about as believable as your near-namesake.
Dafydd ab Hugh
Dafydd ab Hugh at 10:44PM on Apr 9th 2007
4. 59% - Want Congress to Set Deadline for U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Iraq
Mon Apr 9, 12:00 AM ET
Nearly six-in-ten (59%) American adults now say they would like to see their congressional representative vote for legislation calling for a withdrawal of US forces from Iraq by August 2008.
Steve J. at 10:24PM on Apr 9th 2007
5. Dafydd ab Hugh:
What do you have? Shit fer brains?
Webster Hubble Telescope at 11:05PM on Apr 9th 2007
6.
proof on #1
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2007/04/08/scandal_puts_spotlight_on_christian_law_school/?page=full
Webster Hubble Telescope at 11:30PM on Apr 9th 2007
7. A little background on our illustrious host. He wrote this gem:
"It must be very strange to be President Bush. A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can't get anyone to notice. He is like a great painter or musician who is ahead of his time, and who unveils one masterpiece after another to a reception that, when not bored, is hostile.
Hyperbolic? Well, maybe. "
Maybe!
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/011183.php
Uncle Bunny at 11:37PM on Apr 9th 2007
8. One of the hallmarks of Powerline is just how *wrong* it's been on so many issues and topics (Kerning exempted, of course).
And so it goes with the thesis of this very post.
"Public approval of Congress is rising, poll finds - 40 percent approval rating tops that of President Bush"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18027515/
Uncle Bunny at 2:33AM on Apr 10th 2007
9. Uncle Bunny,
You remind me of when Harriet Miers claimed George Bush was the most brilliant man she had ever met. I think Republicans just have different dictionaries than normal people do. As a registered (D) I can easily identify Newt Gingrich as a Bill Clinton level intellect (and a great Kermit the Frog imitator). However, ask Republicans about Clinton and many will say he's an idiot. And W is brilliant!
Hinderaker, maybe one reason the approval ratings for congress haven't really jumped is that they can't/won't give us what we want: a roach-free White House.
lil_turk at 2:56AM on Apr 10th 2007
10. John, its not your fault that this blog was so poorly timed. Today's headline story on AOL shows Congress' approval rating leaped to 40% after Pelosi's peace mission to the Mideast. In 2008, an extremely well funded Democratic party will be highlighting in detail Republican obstruction of the Democrats efforts to fulfill the wishes of a majority of Americans.
Phil at 7:17AM on Apr 10th 2007
11. Voters want congress to do a better job of standing up to Bush.
jukeboxgrad at 10:43AM on Apr 10th 2007
12. I think we use polls way to much in this country. They are usually used as a crutch to replace good argumentation. When reading polls it is important to keep three points in mind.
1. There is often a wide variance in poling numbers. The latest polls showing a higher congressional approval rating, for example, are at variance with other polls showing a much lower approval numbers. Is the latest poll a precursor or simply wrong?
2. It is hard to know exactly what these polls mean. If the job approval of Congress is improving is it because of Pelosi’s visit or for some other reason. I believe that Bush’s low numbers are partly because the base is up set that Bush is too liberal on some issues. If Bush had taken a harder line on immigration and spending his approval would likely be in the low forties.
3. Just because a majority of people agree with you does not make you right. When Bush went into Iraq he had majority support. Did that make him right? If you don’t think so why would you point to majority support now as evidence that we should withdraw?
Greg at 11:35AM on Apr 10th 2007
13. Mike Baumann said:
Low polls for Presidents generally means the President is leading and not following popular opinion. A second term President has little or no obligation to follow popular opinion. Popular opinion means the President is FOLLOWING. In issues of ship-of-state popular positions look more like the UN than a nation of character.
I just wished GW could be a little more articulate.
Excuse Mr. Baumann,
Poll numbers this low for this long mean the preasident is doing something wildly unpopular and is ignoring public opinion. That isn't leadership, its arrogance. And to the extent the voters will, again, savagely punish the president'sparty for it, it is also stupidity.
Nick at 12:00PM on Apr 10th 2007
14. Hinderaker,
If this poll compilation is correct, voters almost always hate "congress" even if they like their congressor. And poll ratings have improved a lot since pre-election. Look at that poll bump right after election. http://www.pollingreport.com/CongJob.htm
Greg, good data is required for "good argumentation."
lil_turk at 5:42PM on Apr 10th 2007
15. Anyone that is 'guided' by polls is intellectually lazy.
Harry Truman left office with his approval ratings in the low twenties, and today is seen as one of our greatest presidents ...despite what his contemporary critics (pollclowns) had to say.
Thomas J Gassett at 6:09PM on Apr 10th 2007