Glenn Reynolds won't tell the truth about Obama's polling numbers
Written by Eric Boehlert
Published
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.