Graph from the Wall Street Journal.
Two interesting observations:
1. Every President, with the exception of Clinton, had a worse rating upon leaving office, than upon entering.
2. Every President, with the exception of W. Bush, had a better approval rating upon entering office, than the President immediately preceding him.
1 comments:
Two thoughts - first, it seems to make sense to me that each President's approval rating decreases throughout the course of the Presidency. When a President is elected, one might say that they are somewhat idealized by the public which elects them. However, after four years of making decisions regarding the safety and well-being of the country, and of being under perhaps the heaviest form of public scrutiny, one's opinion of the President will be lesser than it was before the President had the ability or the power to change or influence America. Before a President is elected, the public can be hopeful and optimistic about his alleged plans for the nation. However, after election, things never turn out as the presidential elect had 'planned' for them to, thereby contributing to the decreasing approval ratings of Presidents throughout their terms as exhibited in this graph.
Also (and this might be a stupid question) - what did Truman do that caused his approval rating to decrease so sharply??
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