A survey for Politico taken last week after the news about Mark Sanford's affair came out still showed his approval rating at 47% with South Carolina voters, a result a good deal better than any of the three polls on Bev Perdue's job performance have found this month.
I think there are a couple takeaways from that:
-Voters are more concerned about the economy than the sex lives of their politicians. And that's a good thing. Although I don't think NC voters are right to blame Perdue for the state's financial woes it's still reassuring to see that's a bigger deal for them than Sanford's personal indiscretions are for SC voters.
-Voters in both parties are hypocrites when it comes to sex scandals. 68% of Republicans in the poll still said they approved of Sanford's job performance- do you think it would have been the same if it was a Democratic politician? At the same time only 22% of Democrats gave Sanford good marks and it's a safe bet most of them would have been willing to give Bill Clinton a free ride for his moral mistakes.
-Speaking more specifically about Perdue, this comparison goes to show just how unpopular she's become- and how important it is for her to make a sustained effort to rebuild her support with the public. Going to half a dozen rallies for education funding and then retreating right back to anonymity probably isn't going to cut it.
Have you considered that perhaps Democrats in SC are disapproving of Sanford for reasons OTHER than his marital infidelities?
ReplyDeleteYes- but it's also worth noting that 70% of Democrats in that poll said they supported impeachment.
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