Bush Approval Rating Higher than Congress'

Despite that President Bush is being hammered by the media for his unpopularity over the Iraq War, it appears he's slightly more popular than Congress is to the American people. Real Clear Politics averages a number of polls which shows that Bush's approval stands on average at 35.8% while Congress has the approval of 34%. Bush's disapproval is 58.3% and Congress' disapproval is 52.3%. Even worse, 65% of those polled think the country is headed in the wrong direction. That does not bode well for either Bush or the Democrats.

The problem may be that no Congressional leaders or the President are providing a long term vision for the future of the country. The Democrats lack any coherent strategy for winning in Iraq, strengthening America domestically, or making the homeland safer. Bush is also viewed by many as a lame duck and has become somewhat paralyzed domestically because of the difficulties in stabilizing Iraq.

However, the American people seem to be widely against abandoning Iraq despite that they are unhappy with the current situation there. A vast majority of Americans are against cutting off funding for the troops and a majority believe that we can do a great deal to help stabilize Iraq before pulling out most of the troops. The American people want to win, but the same can't be said for the Democratic Party.

So where does that leave us? Enter Newt Gingrich: the man who resembles a walking idea machine could be positioning himself perfectly for 2008 by avoiding a premature declaration to run for President. Gingrich has warned that the American people may tire of the "already declared" candidates by the summer since so much media attention has already focused on who will replace Bush in 2008. After all, the 2008 election is almost 2 years away!

Despite his insistence that he will not decide until September of 2007, Gingrich is polling around 10% support of Republicans. Giuliani leads with approximately 35% followed by McCain with around 20%. Mitt Romney trails behind Gingrich with only 7.5% despite a media blitz and attempts to capture the conservative base.

One of Gingrich's big advantages is that he already has a quasi-Presidential campaign organization in place. He has developed a number of organizations since leaving the office of Speaker of the House that will make him a highly effective organizer and fundraiser. He is one of the most sought after public speakers in the country and has written 9 books since leaving elected office.

The Democrats shouldn't expect that their plans for a "slow bleed" to force an exit to Iraq will benefit them politically. They are already trailing the President in job approval ratings and have virtually no concrete ideas or solutions for America's future. Gingrich and other GOP candidates seem to, at the very least, have a plan to succeed in Iraq and are committed to ensure America's national security interests are protected at home and abroad.

Apart from Iraq, the Democrats are an "issue-less" party that would easily fragment on taxes, anti-terrorism strategies, and social policy.

Cross posted at: Newt Gingrich for President 2008 and The Strong Conservative

Posted by Jonathan Strong at 2:19 PM | | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Comments

I am a non-party affiliated voter who always votes either Republican or independent. I have not been able to find a democrat as yet worth voting for under any circumstances. I agree with Mr. Gingrich's positions on most issues and frankly am utterly dismayed with the two current leading Republican candidates of Guliani and McCain. I can say that emphatically I absolutely will not vote for either of them if they get the nomination regardless of who they run against. I really do not see how it makes any difference what party a liberal in the White House pretends to be a member of. I would actually have more respect for the Democrat in that they would not be trying to fool people that they are something they are not like Guliani and McCain are doing. The election would already be lost as it would be a matter of which liberal to choose for president, which is not an acceptable choice. In any event, I think the ONLY hope the Republicans have to really WIN the election in 2008 is to get someone like Newt Gingrich as their candidate. Winning with Guliani or McCain is still losing. I'd really like to see Newt run!

Posted by: Sean Bishop | March 3, 2007 5:01 PM

I have the following concerns about our politics today. Both parties are more concerned with POWER than they are about our Country. The Dems, however, appear to be using our fighting men and women as pawns in this power hunt. Not good. Both parties don't seem to care about what happens to our military once they've returned from the fight. Again, Not Good.
Both parties worry about their pay raises more than the small COLA the military receive each year. They complain about two households etc. But they don't pay for transportaion, medical/dental, or even travel.
I would love to see someone/anyone come out and not only stand up for our military but demand pay raise roll backs for our power hungry politicians.
Done
I've never posted here, at least I don't think I have.
Thank you,

Lee

Posted by: Lee Ridenour | March 3, 2007 11:24 PM

Newt engineered the Contract with America and got this country moving in the right direction when we needed a strong rudder. We need someone of his caliber to take the wheel and turn the ship around once more...but this time from the seat in the oval office.


It's time...

Posted by: Greg T | March 4, 2007 2:05 AM

I am a Pharmacist that has four grown children who are college graduates. Counting them and their spouses, and my wife of forty years, and my two parents, we can provide 12 votes for Newt.

Posted by: GARY TUCKER | March 4, 2007 11:26 AM