the rollercoaster presidency

it's up, then it's down, down, down.

In September 2001, George W. Bush earned (?) the highest approval rating in the history of the Gallup Poll: 90%

He is now the proud owner of a new record:

President Bush has set a record he'd presumably prefer to avoid: the highest disapproval rating of any president in the 70-year history of the Gallup Poll.

In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, 28% of Americans approve of the job Bush is doing; 69% disapprove. The approval rating matches the low point of his presidency, and the disapproval sets a new high for any president since Franklin Roosevelt.

Does the spread suggest something new about the nature of mass-media and public engagement in American society?

link via TPM