Informal sources of presidential power: Public approval Flashcards
What was Bush’s approval rating after 9/11?
90%
What happened to Bush’s approval rating in his last three years?
It rarely got above 40% - getting as low as 25% in 2008
What is the benefit of a high approval rating for the President
More political capital
How did Clinton’s high approval ratings help him in 1999?
It probably saved him from conviction from the Senate during his impeachment trial, as D Senators were reluctant to remove a President of their own party who was still popular with the electorate
Why are elections limited in showing popularity?
They show a snapshot of popularity on election day, but don’t tell us about the months and years in between
What does this mean?
That a president’s approval rating will have an important impact on their ability to get things done
What has been the impact of the current era of hyper partisanship?
There has been a noticeable widening of the gap in the way citizens view the president according to party
How can we describe presidencies since Clinton?
The era of marmite presidency, as far as the individual is concerned, you either love them or hate them
Give a statistic to show the lack of approval for Trump while he was president?
He averaged an approval rating of just 41.1% througout his term, the lowest since Gallup started such polls in the 1940s. For context, Carter another one term president, averaged 45.5%
