A bad week in the polls for Pawlenty

Tim Pawlenty logged a serious hit to his approval ratings in a SurveyUSA poll earlier this week: Just 48 percent of Minnesotans approve of the job he’s doing as governor, and 44 percent disapprove. The Smart Politics blog says that’s the third-lowest showing Pawlenty has made in 54 surveys done since the summer of 2005.

And this morning brings mixed news from Fox9-Rasmussen. Pawlenty garners better approval numbers here at 56 percent; besides old-fashioned statistical error, one possible explanation for the difference with SUSA is that Rasmussen offered two approval choices, "strong" or "somewhat," while SUSA asked for a flat approve or disapprove.

But a whopping 61 percent say that Pawlenty should not run for president in 2012. Twenty-two percent think he should.

Some 62 percent of respondents think Minnesota is on the wrong track, but the Legislature seems to come in for more blame on that count. Only 10 percent say they’re very confident that "state lawmakers [will] successfully deal with the current budget crisis," and another 31 percent are somewhat confident. But the combined 41 percent stands against 58 percent who say they lack any such confidence.

Finally, while we’re on the subject, can anyone suggest an explanation for this question in the poll: "How would you rate the job Barack Obama has been doing as President-Elect?" [emphasis added] It’s PIM’s understanding that he hasn’t been the president-elect for a while now…

No Responses to “A bad week in the polls for Pawlenty”

1. Anonymous Says:
   March 9th, 2009 at 3:39 pm

   This is the beginning of many “bad weeks in the polls” for Gov. Tim Pawlenty. For reasons that completely evade me, it’s increditable — no, it’s downright transphenomenal — Republicans and their minions can still get news coverage of any kind. I put Gov. Pawlenty down as a minion; a mere minnow spashing around in a puddle of uninspriring, but asipring national Republican candidates. These wannabes aren’t even a dime a dozen. The smart ones are laying low and don’t want to be counted at this time.

   It’s amazing the Governor hasn’t heard! The economy is in shambles. Jobs have gone elsewhere or disappeared altogether. Minnesota lakes and fish are polluted. Interstate bridges have fallen. Our roads are congested and in poor condition. Our Metro transit system continues to raise its prices because passenger counts are growing. People are getting poor. The poor are getting poorer.

   And, its the Republicans who did it. Their ideas and agendas don’t work!

   I was a Republican between 1964 and 2004. It’s embarassing to me…flat out, it’s embarassing.