The Democrats Gloat Thread

I am very much afraid that Mr. Imposter does not know what he is talking about. In his frantic effort to denigrate the President of the United States, he places President Bush's Job Approval RAting at 29.

He is egregiously mistaken:

<snip>

37, 35, 35 AND 36

A FAR CRY FROM "29"

OBAMA IN '08?

Can a promising politician go to Washington and NOT make a run for president?




By Jeff Zeleny
Washington Bureau
Published May 28, 2006


WASHINGTON -- The roster of aspiring presidential candidates seems to grow by the week here in the nation's capital, where the season of speculation and seduction is in full blossom.

Never mind that the urgent political matter for Republicans and Democrats is the fight for control of Congress, considering Election Day is less than six months away. These days, two questions rise above most others in the echo chamber: Who, exactly, is flirting with a bid for the White House and is Sen. Barack Obama among them?

It's a ritual that unfolds every four years, at this very time, when politicians openly dream, tease and ruminate about their presidential ambitions, knowing full well there is hardly a downside to such public conjecture. Among Democrats, the scurry is particularly intense.

But those who almost certainly are running--Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), for example--sidestep the question and insist they are focused on their own re-election campaigns. And those who most likely are not running seem content to simply bask in the renewed attention, such as former Vice President Al Gore, whose release of a documentary on global warming has spawned new gossip about his future.

There also are those who fall into another category entirely--the fresh-face, what-if-Clinton-fails, why-not-try-it category--which is where Obama, an Illinois Democrat, finds himself after serving less than 18 months in the Senate.

In recent weeks, Washington chatter about Obama eyeing the presidential race has increased. Leading Senate Democrats and party activists have privately urged him to consider a campaign, or at the very least, to leave the door open for a possible last-minute entry.

When asked about the chance of his name appearing on a 2008 ticket, Obama responded in an interview: "Ha, ha!" He quickly tried to change the subject, but when pressed for an answer, he said: "There are people who think I should make an announcement tomorrow that I'm running for the presidency."

So how does Obama respond to such flattery?

"I tell them," he said, "that I'm focusing on my job as a senator from Illinois."

That stock answer, however, does little to settle the question.

Absent a blood oath, perhaps, speculation is sure to swell among his admirers whose rationale for why he should run goes something like this: He doesn't carry baggage for voting for the Iraq war (he wasn't in the Senate at the time and he spoke against it during his campaign). He is 44 years old and by Election Day 2008, he will be 47, which is one year older than Bill Clinton was in 1992. His celebrity appeal, which will be demonstrated anew on a book tour that could last up to six months, exceeds any Democrat in the race except Sen. Clinton.

"He brings a level of excitement to the political debate, which is the envy of every elected official," said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate. "There is a need for Barack Obama's leadership in America. I have talked to him informally about this. I hope that he will seriously consider it."

But just as many supporters believe that now is not Obama's moment. They urge him to patiently build his knowledge on foreign policy and domestic issues to gain seasoning that could withstand the test of a presidential campaign. And, they said, waiting for another time would perhaps lessen pressures on his family, including his two young daughters.

The longer he waits, though, the more steeped in Washington he becomes. And history is not kind to those who seek the presidency from the Senate. Even after serving less than two years, he often takes pains to portray himself as a newcomer to the scene.

"I am not one of those people who grew up at the age of 7 thinking I was going to be president someday," he said in a speech earlier this month. "I sort of came through the back door into politics."

The President earns favorable reviews from 76% of Republicans, 18% of Democrats, and 35% of those not affiliated with either major political party.

June 1, 2006 - Bush Tops List As U.S. Voters Name Worst President, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Reagan, Clinton Top List As Best In 61 Years

Strong Democratic sentiment pushes President George W. Bush to the top of the list when American voters pick the worst U.S. President in the last 61 years. Bush is named by 34 percent of voters, followed by Richard Nixon at 17 percent and Bill Clinton at 16 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. Leading the list for best President since 1945 is Ronald Reagan with 28 percent, and Clinton with 25 percent.

President Bush is ranked worst by 56 percent of Democrats, 35 percent of independent voters and 7 percent of Republicans, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Best ranking for Reagan comes from 56 percent of Republicans, 7 percent of Democrats and 25 percent of independent voters. Among American voters 18 - 29 years old, Clinton leads the "best" list with 40 percent.

Among young voters, 42 percent list Bush as worst. Clinton tops the "worst" list among white Protestants - 24 percent, and white evangelical Christians - 29 percent.

American voters disapprove 58 - 35 percent of the job Bush is doing, compared to 58 - 36 percent in a March 2 survey. Even voters in red states, where Bush's margin was more than 5 percent in 2004, disapprove 52 - 39 percent.

"Democrats just plain don't like President Bush. His father, the 41st President, was voted out of the White House after one term. Nixon quit under fire. But most Democrats think Bush 43 wins the worst-president race," said Maurice Carroll, Director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"Kennedy and Truman get big Democratic votes, especially among Baby Boomers (45 - 64 years old) and seniors (over 65), but recent memory counts," Carroll said. "Democrats say Clinton's the best and Republicans say he's the worst. Republicans don't think much of Jimmy Carter either. There's no contest for the GOP favorite: It's the Gipper." [..]

A total of 38 percent of voters are "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" with the way things are going in the nation today, while 62 percent are "somewhat dissatisfied" or "very dissatisfied," matching the previous satisfaction low point from March 2.

In an open-ended question, where respondents can give any answer, 16 percent of voters say the war in Iraq is the most important problem facing the U.S. today, down from 23 percent in March. Another 12 percent list economic issues and 11 percent list immigration, the first time this issued has hit double digits in a national poll.

American voters say 56 - 39 percent that going to war in Iraq was the wrong thing to do.

The U.S. should remove all troops from Iraq, 29 percent of voters say, with 28 percent who want the U.S. to decrease the number of troops; 26 percent who want to maintain current troop levels and 11 percent who want to increase troop levels.

From May 23 - 30, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,534 registered voters nationwide. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida and nationwide as a public service and for research.

Code:
1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as President?


Wht
Wht Wht Evangl/BrnAgain
Tot Men Wom Prot Cath Christians

Approve 35% 40% 30% 50% 34% 58%
Disapprove 58 54 62 43 60 35
DK/NA 7 6 8 7 6 7

Rep Dem Ind Red Blue Purple

Approve 74% 8% 28% 39% 28% 34%
Disapprove 17 88 63 52 65 61
DK/NA 10 4 9 9 6 5


Code:3. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in the nation today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied?


Wht
Wht Wht Evangl/BrnAgain
Tot Men Wom Prot Cath Christians

Very satisfied 6% 6% 5% 6% 5% 7%
Smwht satisfied 32 33 30 40 30 43
Smwht dissatisfied 33 36 31 31 39 27
Very dissatisfied 29 24 33 23 26 21
DK/NA 1 1 1 1 - 2

Rep Dem Ind Red Blue Purple

Very satisfied 10% 2% 4% 7% 5% 6%
Smwht satisfied 52 17 30 36 28 30
Smwht dissatisfied 28 35 37 31 37 31
Very dissatisfied 9 45 28 26 30 34
DK/NA 1 - 1 1 1 -


Code:10. Do you think going to war with Iraq was the right thing for the United States to do or the wrong thing?


Wht
Wht Wht Evangl/BrnAgain
Tot Men Wom Prot Cath Christians

Right thing 39% 44% 33% 52% 41% 61%
Wrong thing 56 52 60 43 55 34
DK/NA 5 3 7 5 4 6

Rep Dem Ind Red Blue Purple

Right thing 76% 13% 35% 43% 33% 37%
Wrong thing 18 83 61 51 61 59
DK/NA 6 4 5 6 6 4



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I am afraid that Mr.Nimh has not kept up with the latest polling. The prestigious polling organization Rasmussen Reports gives President Bush a 42% Job Approval Rating as of Saturday.

Currently, for example - see this summary table of all non-daily polls - all of the past month's job approval polls have it at 31-37% for Bush. Rasmussen is on his own, here.