Peter Wehner:
Here’s an interesting data point comparison: Barack Obama’s approval
rating in the Gallup Poll today is 61 percent, with 28 percent
disapproving (the Real Clear Politics aggregate of polls has his
overall job approval rating at 59.8 percent).
A March 5-7, 2001 Gallup poll found President Bush's job approval at 63
percent as well, with only 22 percent disapproving. So George W. Bush,
at a comparable
time in his presidency, was in marginally better shape
than Barack Obama is right now, at least based on the Gallup Poll
survey. (my emphasis)
This runs counter to conventional wisdom that Obama is
tremendously popular, and that Bush (based on the divisive nature of
the 2000 election) was not. In fact, according to the Gallup Poll data,
what President Bush did was rise in the esteem of the public during the
first five weeks of his presidency, while Obama has lost a bit of
altitude. (more . . .)