What Would John Kerry's Approval Rating be Right Now?

[liberalpragmatist]

I'm struck by how low Bush's approval ratings have stayed. It's really no wonder what with Iraq still a mess and his stupid social security privatization-thing.

Honestly, where do you guys think Kerry's approval rating would be were he President? I honestly think it would at least be in the high 50s, possibly the low 60s. Despite the partisan environment, I honestly think Kerry would have managed to truly unite the country in a way Bush is unable to do.

[coloradodem2005]

1. I would say maybe.

Though, I am not entirely sure. With how partisan things are.

[Warpy]

2. I sort of doubt it.

he'd have the Iraq war hanging around his neck like a decaying albatross. The economy wouldn't have picked up overnight, and the Dow would be in the middle of a correction without funny money flooding in from the Fed. Speaking of the Fed, the fish faced enemy of the people in charge of it would likely have hiked interest rates several times to combat oil inflation, while blaming it on working people for being greedy enough to want enough money to live on. Offshoring would continue because he wouldn't have enough votes in Congress to do anything about it, not really, nor would he have enough votes to roll back Bush's disastrous tax cuts, something every Congressman has profited from.

I think Kerry would have had a miserable time had the election been fair and the Democrats gotten a slim majority in the Senate.

Fair or not, he'd have been blamed for all the fallout from Bush's disastrous four years, and we'd probably get Jebbie in 2008 to finish his big brother's job after his big brother finished Dad's job.

[Hippo_Tron]

6. Our senate majority chances were pretty suqashed by election day...

Bowles, Carson, and Tannenbaum just couldn't compete with the Bush turnout and eventually it turned that way for Tony Knowles. Mongiardo might've pulled it out with a Kerry victory and maybe John would've taken Vitter to a runoff with more Kerry support but that still wouldn't have been enough for a majority.

[ComerPerro]

3. 40. At best

Republicans wouldn't let him get a thing done, military deaths would be highlighted by the media whenever they occured and we would be made to believe that Kerry is responsible for the mess in Iraq (the same mess that has been described as "progress" under Bush), and gas prices would be blamed on him.

[Hippo_Tron]

4. Mid-high 40's, but the social security battle hasn't really started yet

The question is, if Bush hadn't been re-elected, would the GOP have even proposed privitization of social security. If they had, Kerry would've won that battle and popped up into the 50's.

On the other hand, we don't know what he would've done with Iraq, etc. My instinct says that Kerry would've been "Cartered" in a manner of speaking, but who knows?

[blogbear]

5. Don't I Just Wish..

That Kerry would have won so we could see! I agree with the comments I read here but feel that over time Kerry would have led us in a by far better direction and his ratings would have gone up. Of course his opponents would have tried to railroad the electorate like they always do.

[politicasista]

7. I agree

Sadly no one here wants to see him again. They want a fighter a hero. Somebody who won't back down.:cry:

[blogbear]

8. Thank-you and I agree with you too. At least Kerry still works for..

us in the Senate and will continue helping us all battle for more progressive change along with Al Gore and others. It does appear that a real 'fight' will be inevitable eventually to force change. Hopefully the best of Democrat leaders will emerge in helping for a smooth and less painful transition from the status quo.

[LittleClarkie]

9. I'd say...

(peterpuma)Oh, two or three(/peterpuma)

In some ways, it might be preferable to let the chimperor stew in his own juices.

Why some folks thought he could fix his own mess is beyond me. But that was the reason some gave.

[marcologico]

10. Low 40s, Fox would be calling him President Chamberlain, Witchfinder

General DeLay would be investigating him for mailing anthrax, BUT . . .

We'd be pulling out of Iraq, we'd be seriously developing alternative fuels, Social Security wouldn't be an issue, and in about another six months the Clinton economy would come roaring back.

* sigh *

[karynnj]

11. Interesting Conjecture - high 50s

Many things in foreign policy would change on the dime. He would put his Iraq plan into affect. At minimum, there would be more trained security and more help form the world. There would be a clear statement on no permanent bases, so I do think we'd be closer to leaving and would be changing the character of the war over there. Kerry had (and I'm sure has) strong moral values on war crimes, I think this would be reflected down throuh the military.

I think he would have been more active, possibly using Clinton, in using the death of Arafat as an opportunity. Through the press has forgotten, the day before they talked truce, Condi said they should resolve it themselves.

He would be pushing to get more of teh nuclear materials and he would probably be dealing with Pakistsan in a different way.

Domestically, he could veto things like the bankrupcy bill.

I don't think he would have gotten much of a honeymoon, but I would imagine he would have had very concilatory SOTU and innagural address speaches trying to heal the anger.


If the negativity of the press was based on fear of the Bush administration's vindictiveness, they might be better

[dbt]

12. Mid-40s and going down by the minute.

After four years of Happy Coma, the MSM would have suddenly and MIRACULOUSLY awakened and have put a President under the microscope. There would be no Michael Jackson coverage at all, because there simply wouldn't be "room" for it.

Every breath that Kerry might take would be analyzed to death, just the way it was with Clinton.

[KayLaw]

13. Not high

The MSM would shriek day and night that he needs to do something right now about these high gas prices, shaking their heads, longing for the days when we had a Texas oil man keeping the pump prices low.

Greenspan would have raised interest rates by several full points and the PPT would have let the stock market crash--no need to manipulate when there was no chance of funneling our FICA directly into the pockets of Wall Street fat cats.

[OneTwentyoNine]

14. Yep,just like they did to Clinton/Gore in 2000

Gas prices em..."mysteriously" jumped up about thirty cents or more in just weeks in mid 2000--around here. Prices went to the lofty price of $1.68 per gallon. Jesus,we'd kill for prices that LOW today,for most of Clinton's Presidency gas around here was in the $1.20-1.30 range.

Repukes screamed,kicked,yelled about Clinton and his FAILED energy policy--and now you want GORE to run the country?!?!? They screamed for him to take Oil out of the reserve,allow wells to be drilled in Yellowstone.

Now look at those asshats,every increase is due to Terra,nothing we can do except buck it up.

Bullshit.....

[tom_paine]

15. Who could tell, Amerikan polls and everything else is so Sovietized

If I had to predict, given the waxing power of the Bushevik Totalitarian Party-Loyal Sub-Media and the fact that Bushevik frauds and thefts are being "written into the system", what I think the POLLS would say (which has less to do with reality at any time in our history/the history of polls)is about 38-40%.

And Kerry could NEVER rise ABOVE 50% just as Bush is not permitted to fall BELOW 50%.

What that means to the actual levels of support, I couldn;t say.

God, I miss Free America!

[bunkerbuster1]

16. It would depend on whether he survived the assassination attempt.

Hate to say it, but face facts, folks--what're the odds big John would've been shot at by either some deranged Freeper or (much more likely) a paid hit by the military industrial complex?

Pretty good, I suspect.

It's gonna get worse before it gets better in the US of A.