Obama more popular now than Clinton was at this point in 1996

[bigtree]

To hear his political opponents talk, the casual listener would think that President Barack Obama is about as unpopular as any president in American history. His Republican adversaries would have us believe that his defeat in November is inevitable and that no matter what Republican is sworn in as the 45th president, things will suddenly be so much better.

Recent polling data compiled by Real Clear Politics shows that President Obama’s composite job approval rating is at 47 percent, compared to a 48.2 percent disapproval rating as of Jan. 8.

Some 16 years ago, another incumbent first-term Democratic president who took a whipping in the midterms was facing re-election. And in January of 1996, poll numbers were bleaker for then-President Bill Clinton than they are today for President Obama.

An Associated Press story from Jan. 8, 1996, reports that Clinton’s approval rating as measured by Gallup was 42 percent, some 5 percentage points lower than Obama’s composite RCP number. As of Jan. 8, Gallup’s rolling poll data was measuring Obama at 46 percent.

Moreover, the 1996 Gallup poll found Clinton trailing then-presumptive GOP nominee Sen. Bob Dole in a hypothetical matchup. In that poll, Dole received 49 percent support to Clinton’s 46 percent.


read: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/11262530-obama-more-popular-now-than-clinton-was-at-this-point-in-1996

[Surya Gayatri]

1. Bigtree, thanks so much for

posting this. Great piece for injecting a little historical perspective into the debate--an antidote to the ginned-up panic.

Clinton, at 42% in Jan. '96, won handily in Nov. '96. End of story.
SG

[mikekohr]

2. It's very early, but it is more likely President Obama wins a blowout re-election

than the possibility of one of the asshats in the Republican Clown car pulling an upset and winning the presidency. The bigger question for me is whether we pick up the House and retain control of the Senate AND then reform the much abused filibuster rule.

[jody]

3. Monica helped Clinton. Who helped Obama? n/t

[GoCubsGo]

5. How so?

The Lewinsky episode wasn't made public until 1998.

[bigtree]

6. you can argue that there's the same type of culture of hate and conspiracy

. . . surrounding this president's opposition as Clinton endured. The campaign has an even more effective antagonist for voters to rally to reject in the republican Congress and in each of these radical republican candidates. That would seem to be a more substantive hook than 'Monica' might have provided (if you accept that dubious argument).

[madokie]

4. In a fair election Obama will win with 2/3's of the vote

With electronic voting machines and electronic vote counting machines, as Oklahoma has, not so sure where he'll come in.
If we don't fix this fraudulent black box voting nothing will matter as we lost. Lost our democracy that is.

[bigtree]

7. it's going to be a state-by-state fight

You're correct that voting integrity will play a big part in close races.