Memory Lane

Presidential approval rating in January ahead of re-election bid via @CNN:

Eisenhower 76%
Johnson 76%
W Bush 59%
Carter 58%
Reagan 55%
Truman 50%
Nixon 49%
Obama 47%
HW Bush 46%
Clinton 46%
Ford 46%
Trump 43%

— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) January 20, 2020

Let's see:

W. Bush faced John "Did you get the name of that Swift Boat?" Kerry.

Carter faced Reagan in our winter of malaise and discontent with Iran over our embassy.

I can't honestly remember who was Reagan's cannon fodder.

"Dewey defeats Truman" who invented the whistle-stop campaign.

Nixon faced McGovern who was on his second running mate before September.

Clinton faced Dole, who got a doomed Presidential run instead of a gold watch.

Obama faced two-time loser Mitt ,I'm richer than God" Romney.

Poppy faced Clinton. He never saw what hit him.

Ford pardoned Nixon. He never had a snowball's chance in hell.

It really is a matter of being fortunate in your opponent.