Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Bush's Popularity

Ann Althouse joins numerous other commentators in asking what the reason is for the recent bump upward of President Bush's approval ratings. Currently, most pundits cite falling gas prices as the cause, but The Oracle has a different theory.

In early 2004, it was widely noted that the President' s poll numbers were so low as to cause concern about his electability. Some Republicans offered that he should push Vice-President Cheney off of the ballot in order to improve his faltering chances.

Then, however, the Democratic alternatives garnered more attention, and the President's popularity began to turn. The same has happened to a lesser extent periodically since the 2004 election. Bush does not look particularly good when standing alone; but when he is alongside a Democratic alternative, he suddenly becomes much more palatable.

Will that factor be enough to save one or both houses of Congress for the Republicans? God only knows, and, this not being a theocracy, He isn't sharing. Nonetheless, if it turns out that Republican losses are minimal because a public that dislikes the Republican administration cannot stomach the thought of Democratic governance, there will be a lot of soul searching, and fingerpointing, on the left side of the political spectrum.

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