http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/09/10/its-here-the-day-democrats-never-thought-would-come/By
Glen Bolger
and
Martin Shull
Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton at the White House on Jan. 16, 2010.
The White House
That tearing sound you hear throughout the land is the rending of garments by anguished Democrats. In a day they surely never expected would arrive, President Barack Obama has a worse image than former President George W. Bush in the just-completed WSJ/NBC September poll.
Of the three presidents tested, Bill Clinton remains the most popular. He has a 56% positive/21% negative rating. That’s not the key data point here. The last time 42 was below 50% positive was way back in December 2008. The last time Mr. Clinton was negatively perceived was June 2008.
No, the big news from these data is that Mr. Bush, the president Democrats had planned to run against longer than Republicans ran against Jimmy Carter, has a better image than the man who was going to slow the rise of oceans, heal the planet, end a war in the Middle East, and restore our country’s image overseas.
It’s not that Mr. Bush is suddenly beloved. He has a 37% positive/38% negative image now. That’s quite a change from the 31%-59% rating he received when he left office in January 2009. Mr. Bush’s negative rating did not consistently drop below 50% until May 2011, and did not drop below 40% until July 2013 (the image ratings of the former presidents are not asked every month).
Meanwhile, Mr. Obama’s fall from the days of Greek Columns and Brandenburg Gates (you know, back when he was good at the theater of politics) has been fast. At the time of his second inaugural just 20 months ago, Mr. Obama had a 52% positive/37% negative rating. By the next month, he had already slipped below 50% positive. And now, he is at 42% positive/46% negative.
So, while Mr. Bush is a net minus one on his image, Mr. Obama is a net minus four. This does not mean Republican candidates will start running on the Bush record, but it does prove that if you wait long enough in politics, you can see anything. Like many a toppled Greek column, the mighty have fallen!
