In response to:

Not Too Much Clout

westriversd Wrote: Dec 01, 2012 11:39 AM

Says a lot about the "electorate". A bunch of uninformed zombies plus voter fraud equals a less than 2% margin of victory. What a mandate? Also, just what did those voters really want from Obama? Just keep the freebies coming cause I sort of like watching day time tv.

Join the Debate!

All comments and users are subject to Townhall's new comments policy.

Read Full Story

Not Too Much Clout

Generally, presidents enjoy a post-election approval rating bounce. Nate Silver notes that since Harry Truman left office in 1952, the median bounce in approval has been 6.25%; the average has been 7%. The bounce for Obama is the smallest since Truman (who actually lost a percentage point); he has enjoyed a bounce of only 2%.

As Silver points out, this may represent the hardened partisan divisions of the present day. But it also makes it hard to argue that President Obama is sweeping into a new term on a resurgence of public approval -- and his inability to make that claim...