It’s not that Mr. Bush is suddenly beloved. He has a 37% positive/38% negative image now. That’s quite a change from the 31%-59% rating he received when he left office in January 2009.Baby step by baby step, the Bush rehabilitation proceeds as Obama lowers the class average. Given enough time, I predict the Bush reputation will rise from terrible to average.
At the time of his second inaugural just 20 months ago, Mr. Obama had a 52% positive/37% negative rating. By the next month, he had already slipped below 50% positive. And now, he is at 42% positive/46% negative.
So, while Mr. Bush is a net minus one on his image, Mr. Obama is a net minus four.
I'll bet Bush feels fondly about Obama in the same way every president since has felt fondly about Jimmy Carter. Carter was so bad he made all successors look good by comparison.
