Day: February 21, 2008

Poll: Bush Approval at 19% – Officially ‘Worst President Ever’

Jon Ponder

The perception that the economy is failing may have finally done what seven years of lies and incompetence have failed to do — bring George Bush’s approval rating down to a closer reflection of reality:

George W. Bush’s overall job approval rating has dropped to a new low in American Research Group polling as 78 percent of Americans say that the national economy is getting worse according to the latest survey from the American Research Group.

Among all Americans, 19 percent approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 77 percent disapprove. When it comes to Bush’s handling of the economy, 14 percent approve and 79 percent disapprove.

Bad news for Bush but good news, finally, for the United States of America. It means that fewer than 20 percent of our fellow citizens are truly and irrevocably dimwitted and/or delusional.

But how does a 19 percent approval rating compare with other presidents? Here’s an overview from the recent past:

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Timing, Sourcing Suggest GOP, Not Dems, Behind McCain ‘Smear Campaign’

Jon Ponder

The McCain campaign has had two months to prepare for the story published in the New York Times about his cozy relationship eight years ago with a young blond woman who happened to be a lobbyist.
The possibility that Romney’s mitts were all over this might explain McCain’s palpable antipathy toward him.
The campaign’s rapid response team put out a news release last night that twice used the phrase “smear campaign” to describe the Times story:

“It is a shame that The New York Times has lowered its standards to engage in a hit-and-run smear campaign. John McCain has a 24-year record of serving our country with honor and integrity. He has never violated the public trust, never done favors for special interests or lobbyists, and he will not allow a smear campaign to distract from the issues at stake in this election.

“Americans are sick and tired of this kind of gutter politics, and there is nothing in this story to suggest that John McCain has ever violated the principles that have guided his career.”

They have had this response in the can for two months, so it bears some scrutiny. The word “smear” is predictable but to use it twice in conjunction with “campaign” is interesting.

One news story is hardly a “campaign.” And it is obvious from even a casual reading of the Times article that lawyers have been all over it. But is there more to come? The McCain team’s use of the word “campaign” suggests there could be.

Or, it is equally likely that “campaign” is a bit of transference — that McCain and his operatives know the source of the story was a rival campaign.

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