According to Gallup an equal number of Americans approve of the job that President Barack Obama is doing as disapprove – 46% and yet he tops the country’s list of most admired men in America for the third year in a row. The President won the title by quite a wide margin. He was chosen by 22% of those surveyed – a solid 17% higher than the second most admired man in America, Former President George W. Bush. Much of the media has painted Obama as a President frustrating Americans across the political spectrum with his compromise oriented approach to policy, yet his approval ratings say otherwise. Further confusing the issue, it was widely assumed that Americans sent a clear message of disapproval to Obama in November when Republicans took back the House of Representatives. Why, then, did the American people choose Obama? Have they continued to be supportive of him? Have his recent wins in the lame duck session turned things around? Or are the numbers misleading? Is he as approved of as it would seem?
Guest:
Doyle McManus, Washington Columnist, covering national and international politics for the Los Angeles Times