Obama - Following the Reagan & Clinton Model?

Barack Obama's recent dip in job approval has Republicans hearts a twitter and Democrats claiming a political apocalypse is upon them.  Every pundit is calling Obama a one-term President.  Paraphrasing Mark Twain - Reports of Obama political demise are premature...  Although, the same may not be said for many Democrats currently in the House of Representatives. A quick look back at Gallup's Presidential Poll over the last 30 years shows that Obama is better shape than both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were at similar points in their first terms - both of whom rebounded to win re-election by wide margins.  Today conservatives love to extol the virtues of Reagan and his enduring popularity.    The reality is that Reagan's popularity, or lack thereof, was stuck in the low 40's for most of his first term, and hit an all-time low of 35% at the beginning of 1983.  The Republicans in Congress, not Reagan, paid the price - losing 25 seats in the House in the 1982 midterm elections. Clinton's popularity went south even earlier... Barely months into his Presidency Clinton's approval rating hit 37%.  Again, Democrats in Congress, not Clinton, paid the price  -- as Democrats lost 54 seats - ceding control to Gingrich and the Republicans. On the flip-side - George Bush S... Read More