Didn’t Obama proclaim he would be the first “post-partisan” president?
From Politico:
President Barack Obama’s third year in office elicited some of the most polarized job approval ratings ever, as the differences between Republican and Democratic views of the president stood at near record highs, a new survey shows.
In 2011, 80 percent of Democrats approved of Obama’s job performance, compared to 12 percent of Republicans, according to Gallup.
The gap of 68 percent is the fourth-highest on record, going back to the Eisenhower administration, the pollster said.
Only President George W. Bush’s fourth, fifth and sixth years in office showed higher degrees of polarization.
It appears that the past decade has seen some of the most polarized views on the presidency. Together, the Bush and Obama administrations account for the seven most polarized years on record, and eight of the Top 10.
Despite all this, the polarization is likely to get even worse in 2012.
