Under our Constitution, unlike a parliamentary system, the chief executive has no direct relationship with Congress. He can, of course, veto legislation, but historically the president’s power has been judged to be largely a function of his personal stature. To the extent that a president holds sway over Congress, it is because he is popular with voters.
The odd thing about Barack Obama is that he has never been a popular president. Yet somehow he was re-elected, and he continues to be taken seriously as a political force. This chart shows President Obama’s Approval Index, as measured by Rasmussen Reports, from his inauguration to the present. The Approval Index simply measures the difference between the number of likely voters who Strongly Approve and who Strongly Disapprove of the president’s performance. If the index is negative, it means that more voters Strongly Disapprove than Strongly Approve:
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