Presidential Approval Ratings: The Clock Is Ticking
As approval ratings for the President hit a new low of 38% (NewWeek), many are wondering what effect, if any, this will have on the 2006 and 2008 elections. The President is quickly approaching the final approval rating of Jimmy Carter (34%), and slumping towards that of Richard Nixon (24%). (About.com) We're facing a political crisis the likes of which fully half of us have never personally been a party to. The Republicans are, in all likelihood, going to have to provide a candidate that, right off the bat, can show both charisma and talent. The current President has shown little of either. For those of us who see the slow merging of the Republican party and the Democratic party in America, however, we're going to have to see a very strong candidate, regardless of party affiliation. Next year, chances are excellent that the Congress will fall into the control of the Democrats again. When (and if) it does, the people must be there to tell them that we're tired of having the wool pulled over our eyes by BOTH parties, and they'd better be providing a viable alternative.
posted by Mad Mod at
9/10/2005 09:33:00 PM
3 Comments:
Bill Clinton, 1994: 38% approval rating.
At the time, the press adored him. This is not a crisis. It is a media-manufactured fantasy.
You're certainly correct about Clinton. Other than his administration's money handling skills (the jury's still out on this one, but I agree with it) and his sheer charisma, there wasn't all that much to laud about Slick Willy. Hell, Clinton was pushing, back when he was still in office, some of the same rhetoric about Iraq's unfound WMDs that the Bush admin has been spouting for the past few years. It's not just the poll numbers, however, that make the situation a crisis (that's merely a focus to make the point). The reality of the ethics investigations, which are sliding past Delay and Frist and going further into the administration, cause a small part of it. The current investigation into the 'Able Danger' team has the potential to cause problems. The decreasing support of the war is causing more damage than almost anything else, and there are plenty of other specific events I could cite. The point is not that the polls themselves indicate a crisis, so much as the events that brought them to the level they're at right now. Whether someone happens to be a media darling or not doesn't really come into the equation, except in cases like the *ahem* 'Rathergate' situation (yeah, he really screwed the pooch on that one).
Bill Clinton..helped out the little guy...Family Leave Act..ever heard of it?
I don't recall there being such a negative tone in the country, and in people I encountered as much as 2005. People are vicious..they are on edge.
Bush's politics is to scare people into submission. This is reminiscent of the 60's and bomb shelter films shown to elementary school children.
Stop with the overblow fear, and stop encouraging people to hate each other.
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