Legal Commentary

Rasmussen: 43% now strongly disapprove of Obama, same as Bush when he left office

By Jim Lindgren

When George Bush left office he was deeply unpopular: in Bush?s last month, according to Rasmussen 43% strongly disapproved of the job Bush was doing, while only 13% strongly approved, for a staggering negative rating of ?30%. Rasmussen?s Thursday release shows that after 14 months in office President Barack Obama has achieved Bush?s 43% of the people strongly disapproving of his performance, but Obama is still 10% ahead of Bush in those who strongly approve (23% v. 13% for Bush).

I suspect that the main difference in their overall approval ratings is among African-Americans, not whites.

Imagine how unpopular Obama would be if the press and the late night comedians (who are at least as important as the press) treated Obama as they treated Bush.

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on March 19, 2010 (boomark / email).