Talk about some weak spin.
Blogger Glenn Reynolds enlightens New York Post readers today about the Elena Kagan nomination in light of Obama's “weak” standing [emphasis added]:
With President Obama at a 39 percent re-elect number (that is, only 39 percent of voters say they'd vote for him today, according to a recent National Journal poll, while 50 percent would vote for someone else), and with early indicators suggesting that a 1994-style drubbing for the Democrats might be in the offing, the Kagan pick is a safe, low-risk move for a president who can't afford to run too many more risks at the moment.
Pretty much defines cherry-picking, right? Reynolds cites a lone (pointless) poll that asks people if they might vote for Obama two years from now against an unknown opponent.
Brilliant as always Glenn.
In terms of how grown-ups usually measure the popularity and general success of a sitting president, Reynolds may or may not be familiar with something called approval ratings. And Reynolds may or may not be familiar with a polling firm called Gallup. He should look it up. Because according to Gallup, Obama's job approval rating continues to hover around a healthy 50 percent, where's it remained essentially unchanged for eight straight months.