by Peter A. Brown
When the nation's governors gather today in Philadelphia for their annual meeting, they should hoist a few in thanks to George W. Bush.
That's because the president's political problems are so severe that he is making the governors look good by comparison -- allowing many of them to avoid the blame for the economic slump bedeviling many of their states.
Bush is so unpopular that the voters appear to be fault him for every ill that ails them. His job approval has sunk into the 20s in many national surveys -- and he recently recorded the second lowest mark ever in the history of the Gallup Poll. As a result, many governors - the men and women who traditionally suffer in the public eye no matter which party they belong to when times are tough in their states - are seen much more positively than they might be otherwise.
Brown is assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. Read his full article at the Wall Street Journal's Political Perceptions blog.
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Comments
If the governors poll ratings are to be compared to anything, why not compare them to the ratings of the Democrat-controlled Congress--which had 9% approval according to the latest poll. The lowest approval rate in history, making Bush's numbers look great by comparison.
Posted by: Kennedy | July 14, 2008 2:42 PM
If the Dems in Congress would grow a spine and oppose Bush once in a while, we'd like them more.
Posted by: Cheryl | July 14, 2008 3:50 PM