Bob Taft hits 6.5% approval rating

[Joe Republic]

I'm so proud. *wipes tear*

WARNING: Zogby is the actual pollster responsible here.  Still, the article is worth reading anyway.


Source: Toledo Blade

Taft's approval ratings sink into single digits
Only 6.5% back governor, poll says

By JIM TANKERSLEY
BLADE POLITICS WRITER

Gov. Bob Taft's approval ratings have hit single digits.  But Ohio Republicans shouldn't hit the panic button, a new statewide poll suggests.

A Zogby International online survey, conducted a week after the Nov. 8 election and released yesterday, shows just 6.5 percent of Ohio voters view the embattled GOP governor very or somewhat favorably. Barely 3 percent rate his job performance as "good" or "excellent."

"I'm not aware of anyone who's ever sunk lower," pollster John Zogby said.

Sixty-one percent of respondents said Mr. Taft should have resigned after pleading guilty in August to misdemeanor ethics charges for failing to report dozens of gifts and golf outings to state officials.

The charges stemmed from a scandal involving Toledo-area coin dealer Tom Noe, a former Republican fund-raiser and Taft golfing partner who was recently indicted on charges that include laundering money to President Bush's campaign.

Mr. Bush, for his part, registered a 46 percent favorable rating in the poll.

Nearly 50 percent of Zogby respondents said Mr. Taft ran a "purposely corrupt" administration as governor, while 33 percent called his office the victim of "corrupt in-dividuals who scammed the state."

Mr. Zogby said he has seen only one other politician dip below 10 percent approval: former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who hit 7 percent while immersed in a bribery scandal.

A spokesman for Mr. Taft dismissed the results and questioned Zogby's Internet methodology. "Governor Taft does not govern by the polls," said Mark Rickel, the spokesman, "especially one that does not appear to be scientific."

The poll surveyed 698 self-identified "likely" Ohio voters online from Nov. 15-17 and weighted the results slightly to reflect state demographics. It has an error margin of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points. Zogby conducted similar post-election surveys in California, New Jersey, and Virginia.

Ohio's results show voters, despite their anger with Mr. Taft, divided evenly over which political party they trust to run state government, with 38 percent choosing Democrats and 37 percent Republicans.

Asked which party was more "organized and effective," 52 percent said Republicans, compared to 12 percent for Democrats, who haven't won a statewide executive election in 15 years and who are currently looking for a new state party chairman. Only 30 percent - mostly self-declared Democrats - said it was time for a change in state government because no party should lead the state uninterrupted for so long.

Fewer than one in four said four so-called reform measures on the Nov. 8 ballot, which were pitched as an antidote to GOP scandal and all failed, "would have cleaned up a corrupt state government."

"It gives us additional evidence that there's much work to be done," said State Rep. Chris Redfern, the House Democratic Leader and a candidate for party chairman. "As Democrats, we can't just point to the other side and say they're crooks.... You have to give people a reason to vote for you."

Another candidate for the chairmanship, Susan Gwinn, said that to win next year, Democrats must build a statewide infrastructure to increase voter turnout.

"Message is part of it," said Ms. Gwinn, the Athens County Democratic chairman, who announced her candidacy yesterday, "but I would say that the biggest piece of the puzzle is getting our voters out."

A spokesman for the state Republican Party said he didn't put much stock in the results but said it was clear Democrats were "a party in disarray."

"You have to have an agenda for the state, you have to have ideas, and you have to have candidates the voters can trust," said John McClelland, the spokesman, "and heading into 2006, we are confident in the slate of candidates we have on the ballot for the Republican Party."

[Virginian87]

This is incredible. 

Go Ted Strickland!

[WalterMitty]

enough already.

havent yall beat up on bob enough?

[YRABNNRM]

Anyone know what the lowest approval rating of all time is? Including Presidents, Governors and Senators.

[ATFFL]

If Zogby says 6.5%, taft is possibly in the 50s.  Not sure.

[Yates]

Zogby is certainly not dead on, but to have a number this low means that Taft is suffering.  We knew that already, however.

[Moooooo]

SUSA issued a new 50 state governor poll today.  Taft is at 18% approval.

[Joe Republic]

enough already.

havent yall beat up on bob enough?

Maybe you should try living here for a while.  We still have just over a year left of him, unless he does the decent thing and resigns.

[WalterMitty]

enough already.

havent yall beat up on bob enough?

Maybe you should try living here for a while.  We still have just over a year left of him, unless he does the decent thing and resigns.

has taft f'ed up your life joe?

[Joe Republic]

has taft f'ed up your life joe?

By flushing the state budget down the toilet, and hiking taxes to compensate, I guess you could say he's f'ed it up in a way.

[J. J.]

First, it Zogby.  I'd say that if it was 65%.

Second, we all know Taft is in the toilet.  Get a decent pollster to say 6.5% and I'll say WOW, though I'll sayWOW at 18%.

[Keystone Phil]

If this was accurate and I was close to Taft, I'd be seriously concerned about his mental state. The guy might suck as a Governor but I'd hate to see those numbers.

[they don't love you like i love you]

I'm pretty sure that Saddam Hussein's approval rating at any point throughout his term in office is probably higher than Taft's is now.

[Galactic Overlord]

By flushing the state budget down the toilet, and hiking taxes to compensate, I guess you could say he's f'ed it up in a way.

He's corrupt, a RINO, truly the worst of all worlds.  I can't wait until he's gone and his albatross is unwrapped from that state.

[King]

I'm pretty sure that Saddam Hussein's approval rating at any point throughout his term in office is probably higher than Taft's is now.

Saddam Hussein's approval rating at any point throughout his term in office is higher than anybody's is, was, and ever will be.

[Gabu]

Holy crap.

Someone call up htmldon and see if he disapproves yet.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Gosh, Ohio sure loves to elect politicians that they hate. Bush isn't exactly popular there either.

[Cubby]

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6.5% Approval Rating yet they still don't trust the Democrats? What the hell is wrong with Ohio! No one should complain about 1 party dominance in Massachusetts if this is the case.

[Democratic Hawk]

Were I Taft, I'd guess those "numbers" would depress me somewhat but if the Democrat's aren't capitalising on it, it's a sign of their weakness and possible grounds for GOP optimism but I have high hopes for Strickland and Hackett and wish them success

Republican woes aren't enough and the Democrats must field the best possible candidates for governor and senator

Dave

[AuH2O]

Hey, Yeltsin won an election with numbers like that.

[A18]

Holy ****!!!

Still, it's Zogby, so I wouldn't take it too seriously.

[Joe Republic]

6.5% Approval Rating yet they still don't trust the Democrats? What the hell is wrong with Ohio! No one should complain about 1 party dominance in Massachusetts if this is the case.

Simply because the incumbent governor is unpopular does not make the other party better by default.

[TheresNoMoney]

The Democratic state party in Ohio has been a mess and needs to be reorganized with new leadership. It's not surprising that Ohio voters deem them to be unorganized.

However, I think 2006 is a great year for Ohio Democrats to turn it around. Ted Strickland is a great candidate at the top of the ticket and Paul Hackett should also be a strong candidate statewide.

[Cubby]

6.5% Approval Rating yet they still don't trust the Democrats? What the hell is wrong with Ohio! No one should complain about 1 party dominance in Massachusetts if this is the case.

Simply because the incumbent governor is unpopular does not make the other party better by default.

In a 2 party system, yes it should

[Joe Republic]

In a 2 party system, yes it should

No it shouldn't.  Bob Taft is one man; not the whole GOP.  He's not even that representative of the GOP anyway.  Simply because he is a terrible governor does not mean the whole party is terrible, or that the Democrats are any better.

Let's look at this another way.  Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana is currently the lowest approved Democratic governor.  Do you think the Lousiana Republican Party as a whole suddenly looks a lot more attractive?