Tracking Voter Regret

By Chrissy the Hyphenated

I love polls. What can I say … I just think they’re fun. And I especially enjoy watching Obama’s approval rating polls drop. Which is no doubt a less than admirable trait in my spiritual repertoire, but there you go. I’m working on my humility by admitting, right? So yay me!

Oops. ;o)

Presidential approval polling has been going on since part-way through FDR’s “reign”. You can see any point in any of these polls at Gallup’s super nifty, interactive, Presidential Approval Center web site.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/presidential-approval-center.aspx

You can even set the parameters to allow you to directly compare any batch of presidents for any day of their presidency.

Another reliable polling organization that tracks presidential approval is Rasmussen.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/obama_approval_index_history

The two are interesting to compare, because Gallup polls All Americans, while Rasmussen polls Likely Voters. All Americans usually poll more to the left than Likely Voters poll, which may suggest that the people who care enough to vote also care enough to get better information than the biased pap the MSM spews.

I’ve been tracking Obama’s approvals for a long time. The graphs and graphics I’ve done are posted in my Obama Approval Polls: Tracking Voter Regret album @

http://news.webshots.com/album/578603819FDJyoi

I just want to make a few points today. First and foremost, this isn’t about skin color. Obama began his term with one of the highest ever inauguration approval ratings.

It also isn’t about unfair media coverage. Fourteen months into his administration, MSM coverage of his leadership was still clocking at a biased 60% positive. During the campaign and for much of his first year, the disparity was even worse.

I think it’s about his leadership … or lack thereof. Certainly, it’s about him shoving unpopular legislation crafted behind closed doors down our throats.

But I think it’s also about him playing at being a celebrity rather than working at being a president.

Posted @ http://news.webshots.com/photo/2767175410056011884qxthTT

His polls dropped fairly steadily until the Total Approves encompassed only the O’drooling, Strongly Approved on Inauguration Day, Kool-Aid Krew. But even within that group, there has been some erosion, from Strongly to just plain Approve. I’m curious to see if this holds or if some of these die-hards finally eat crow and admit they picked the wrong horse to go down in history as our first black president.

Posted @ http://news.webshots.com/photo/2767175410056011884qxthTT