Barack and Michelle Obama have higher approval ratings than their two most recent predecessors. And the public generally has favorable opinions of the new president's policies.
But there is a fly in the ointment — Vice President Joe Biden.The veep has a favorable rating of 51%. The last Democratic vice president, Al Gore, had a 55% favorable rating at a comparable point in the first term of the Clinton presidency. And Biden's immediate predecessor, Dick Cheney, enjoyed a favorable rating of 58%.
Pew also reports that Gore's unfavorable rating in April 1993 was 24%. Cheney's unfavorable rating in July of 2001 was 26%. Biden's unfavorable rating is 28%.
But this is kind of like a race. It doesn't matter where you start but where you finish, and I don't think it should be too hard for Biden to finish with a higher favorability rating than Cheney did when he left office in January.
It will depend, to a great extent, on how successful Obama is in reversing the negative economic trend. If more people have jobs than when Obama took office and foreclosures are down, his presidency is likely to be regarded as a success. And that will have a positive trickle–down effect on Biden.
Of course, if Biden goes on a hunting trip while he is vice president, it will help if he doesn't shoot anyone.
I don't know if Biden is much of a hunter, but if he is invited on a hunting trip, he might be well advised to do his shooting with a camera.
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