Look who's polarizing now

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It's the rare lamestream media report concerning Sarah Palin in which the former governor is not described as "polarizing." But results from a recent Gallup Poll reveal that the media dogs have been barking up the wrong tree. Barack Obama has, lo and behold, the most polarized approval ratings for any first-year president since Gallup began tracking approval numbers during the Eisenhower administration:

The 65 percentage-point gap between Democrats' (88%) and Republicans' (23%) average job approval ratings for Barack Obama is easily the largest for any president in his first year in office, greatly exceeding the prior high of 52 points for Bill Clinton.

Overall, Obama averaged 57% job approval among all Americans from his inauguration to the end of his first full year on Jan. 19. He came into office seeking to unite the country, and his initial approval ratings ranked among the best for post-World War II presidents, including an average of 41% approval from Republicans in his first week in office. But he quickly lost most of his Republican support, with his approval rating among Republicans dropping below 30% in mid-February and below 20% in August. Throughout the year, his approval rating among Democrats exceeded 80%, and it showed little decline even as his overall approval rating fell from the mid-60s to roughly 50%.

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Thus, the extraordinary level of polarization in Obama's first year in office is a combination of declining support from Republicans coupled with high and sustained approval from Democrats. In fact, his 88% average approval rating from his own party's supporters is exceeded only by George W. Bush's 92% during Bush's first year in office. Obama's 23% approval among supporters of the opposition party matches Bill Clinton's for the lowest for a first-year president. But Clinton was less popular among Democrats than Obama has been to date, making Obama's ratings more polarized.

Since Gallup defines the degree of polarization of a politician as the percentage-point gap between his or her average approval rating from members of his or her own political party and the average job approval ratings he or she receives from members of the opposing poilitical party, our curiosity led us to look up the most recent Gallup survey which tracked those parameters for former Governor Sarah Palin. On December 17, 2009, the premier pollster reported that she was viewed favorably by 79% of Republicans and 21% of Democrats, a gap of 58 percentage points. So President Obama is more polarizing a political figure than Gov. Palin by a full 6 point margin.

The Parable of the Prompter...

The president possesses a wonderful teleprompter which can answer him when he stands before it. So he faced his magic Teleprompter and inquired:  

Teleprompter, Telepromter, standing tall
Who's the most polarizing pol of all?
It's surely THAT WOMAN against whom I'm railin'
It must be that horrible Sarah Palin

But his wonderful Teleprompter answered:

"O Mr. President, I'll tell you true
The Lady Palin is not as divisive as you."

The president was horrified, and inquired of his Teleprompter again:

Teleprompter, Telepromter, standing tall
Who's the most polarizing pol of all?
It's surely one who grates Republicans raw
It must be Bill Clinton of Arkansas

But the magic Teleprompter answered:

"O Mr. President, I'll tell you true
Even Ol' Bubba doesn't polarize like you."

Becoming angered, the president again queried his Teleprompter:

Teleprompter, Telepromter, standing tall
Who's the most polarizing pol of all?
It's surely the one I always blame first
It must be George Bush who divides us the worst

But the magic Teleprompter answered:

"O Mr. President, I'll tell you true
Even Dubya's not at divisive as you."

Frustrated, the president asked his Teleprompter one last time:

Teleprompter, Telepromter, standing tall
Who's the most polarizing pol of all?
There must be someone in this great nation
Who's worse than me at polarization

But the magic Teleprompter answered:

"O Mr. President, I'll tell you true
Not another in this land is as divisive as you."

It is said that a great crashing sound then echoed throughout the White House. And a new Teleprompter was ordered to replace the shattered one. To this date, the president hasn't been overheard in conversation with it. 

- JP