Do Biden and His Party Have New Hope for November?
Byron York
Posted: Mar 09, 2022 12:01 AM
There was a striking moment on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday. Moderator Chuck Todd brought up a poll recently released by National Public Radio and Marist that showed President Joe Biden's job approval rating at 47%, with a disapproval rating of 50%. The screen showed that poll in contrast to another NPR/Marist survey from two weeks earlier that showed Biden's approval rating at 39%, with a 55% disapproval rating. One poll was done before Biden's State of the Union address and the Russian invasion of Ukraine; the other was done after.
The more recent poll was "the first one fully after invasion," Todd noted. What accounted for the improvement in Biden's standing? "I don't think this is a State of the Union bounce," Todd said. "This appears to be the first of what could be called 'rally around the flag.' Post-Ukraine, job approval rating almost above water. His approval on the handling of Ukraine now above water." Todd warned that the poll "could be an outlier." Still, he said, "we may be in the middle of a shift in politics, with it being driven by Ukraine."
There was a hopeful feel to the conversation -- maybe Biden is coming back! -- with cautions, by both Todd and NBC's Hallie Jackson, that the poll might not accurately reflect what is actually happening. And sure enough, after the NPR/Marist poll was released, three other polls came out in quick succession -- all done after the Ukraine invasion -- that showed Biden's approval rating at 44%, 39% and 40%, respectively -- in line with the low 40s in which Biden has been mired for months.
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https://townhall.com/columnists/byronyork/2022/03/09/do-biden-and-his-party-have-new-hope-for-november-n2604299
