To add-on my JFK/Reagan/BHO analogy, someone told me that Obama has the highest polled-favorables ever for a presidential candidate. I don't know if that is accurate, and I haven't seen that alleged polling itself, BUT if its true...

Well JFK and Reagan both made some mistakes inbetween the good shit they did.

JFK had the Bay of Pigs fiasco in his first 100 days in office, ordered the coup de tats in South Vietnam that got its dictator assassinated, and a similar overthrow in Iraq that a young Saddam Hussein was involved as an enforcer for the new leader...his weakness at his Vienna summit with Kruschev in 1961 would lead onto the Cuban Missile Crisis (which his administration defused strongly without looking weak) and famously held off on any significant Civil Rights legislation until the Birmingham church bombing in 1963.

Reagan failed to decrease government (in fact, he increased it, with Department of Veterans' Affairs) and his supply-side economics provided for an economic boom, but a heavy deficit in the late 80s/90s that cost Bush Sr. his job. Reagan also had his nasty/insignificant involvements down in Central America (which could have snared us down like Vietnam) and maybe his administration should have been more assertive in publicly combating the AIDS epidemic, and oh yeah that whole Iran-Contra fuckup.

And yet both Presidents were liked by the American people in spite of all that. Despite Iran/Contra, Reagan left office with the then-highest approval ratings, and JFK's lowest mark was at 56%.

Look at Americans who refuse to let go of "Camelot," in spite of JFK's numerous affairs and (possibly) being connected in some way to Marylyn Monroe's death, and his outright bitchyness (like having the IRS audit Nixon yearly after the 1960 election.) When Reagan died, his state funeral was perhaps for Americans the most emotional since JFK's own in 1963.





I got one better TIS:

Arizona Daily Star poll:

McCain 43.5
Obama 41.5

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/264209