# Rubbing Diogenes' Nose in Reality **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 20, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698 "2010-01-20T15:18:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/141 "2010-01-21T04:14:57Z")
[It’s 50%](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html) ---
**Author:** ![Venetian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/aeb1de/32.png) [@Venetian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venetian)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/142 "2010-01-21T04:22:31Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > [It’s 50%](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html) Try 48%, bitch. > **[Obama Approval Index History - Rasmussen Reports®](https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/obama_approval_index_history)** ---
**Author:** ![Sinaijon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Sinaijon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaijon)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/143 "2010-01-21T04:23:34Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > He kicked their asses in the '95 government shutdown, and basically got whatever he wanted after that. Oh? And what exactly was that? Deregulating telecom, Banning SSM, ending Welfare as we know it, trying to regulate porn on the Internet, Digital copyright, promoting regime change in Iraq? What legislation was passed in his second term that wasn’t straight off the Republican checklist? ---
**Author:** ![Venetian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/aeb1de/32.png) [@Venetian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venetian)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/144 "2010-01-21T04:24:28Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > [It’s 50%](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html) And even if it were, in your fevered imagination, how is 50% “rock solid” support? Answer the question. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/145 "2010-01-21T04:29:19Z")
> [@Venetian](#): > > Try 48%, bitch. > > [http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public\_content/politics/obama\_administration/obama\_approval\_index\_history](http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/obama_approval_index_history) The aggregate of all the pls is 50%, and rassmussen always tilts right anyway. it’s 50, bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/146 "2010-01-21T04:30:19Z")
> [@Sinaijon](#): > > Oh? And what exactly was that? Deregulating telecom, Banning SSM, ending Welfare as we know it, trying to regulate porn on the Internet, Digital copyright, promoting regime change in Iraq? What legislation was passed in his second term that wasn’t straight off the Republican checklist? Clinton was a conservative, for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![Venetian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/aeb1de/32.png) [@Venetian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venetian)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/147 "2010-01-21T04:31:24Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The aggregate of all the pls is 50%, and rassmussen always tilts right anyway. > > it’s 50, bitch. 48% Bitch, prove otherwise. You made the claim, prove it. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/148 "2010-01-21T04:32:58Z")
> [@Venetian](#): > > And even if it were, in your fevered imagination, how is 50% “rock solid” support? > > Answer the question. Could you please let me know where the cut-off is for “Rock Solid”? I mean it sounds a little subjective, but since you’re acting like such a whiny little bitch about this, I suspect you are privy to the official number. Is it 53%? 60%? Well, I really need to know this, c’mon. ---
**Author:** ![Venetian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/aeb1de/32.png) [@Venetian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venetian)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/149 "2010-01-21T04:33:52Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Could you please let me know where the cut-off is for “Rock Solid”? I mean it sounds a little subjective, but since you’re acting like such a whiny little bitch about this, I suspect you are privy to the official number. > > Is it 53%? > > 60%? > > Well, I really need to know this, c’mon. It’s not 48, or 50. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/150 "2010-01-21T04:34:18Z")
I believe the answer will be “I know it when I don’t see it” and I’d have to agree that 50% isn’t it. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/151 "2010-01-21T04:37:57Z")
> [@Venetian](#): > > It’s not 48, or 50. It was for Reagan in 1983, a year before he was re-elected in a landslide; [his approval rating sank to below 40](http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-presapp0605-31.html). ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/152 "2010-01-21T04:39:31Z")
> [@Venetian](#): > > And even if it were, in your fevered imagination, how is 50% “rock solid” support? > > Answer the question. Because it’s enough to win reelection, dipshit. 50 is usually regarded as the “safe” number for a POTUS to be at. Clinton, at this same point in his presidency, was in the 30’s, and still won reelection in a landslide. Reagan’s numbers were at 35% (during another recession) a year before his own reelection. The fact that Obama is still consistently tracking at 50 or better in the midst of a recession and two armed conflicts is phenomenally high. ---
**Author:** ![Venetian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/aeb1de/32.png) [@Venetian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venetian)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/153 "2010-01-21T04:39:42Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I believe the answer will be “I know it when I don’t see it” and I’d have to agree that 50% isn’t it. Of course it isn’t. The question I have is why anybody else isn’t calling him out on his crap??? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/154 "2010-01-21T04:43:33Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I believe the answer will be “I know it when I don’t see it” and I’d have to agree that 50% isn’t it. That is conventionally the number that politicos regard as “safe” for a sitting President. Since Obama is tracking consistently at that number (which has floated as high as 56% lately), he’s basically safe. Clinton and Reagan both dipped much, much lower than this, and both won landslide reelections. ---
**Author:** ![Venetian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/aeb1de/32.png) [@Venetian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venetian)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/155 "2010-01-21T04:43:56Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Because it’s enough to win reelection, dipshit. 50 is usually regarded as the “safe” number for a POTUS to be at. Clinton, at this same point in his presidency, was in the 30’s, and still won reelection in a landslide. Reagan’s numbers were at 35% (during another recession) a year before his own reelection. > The fact that Obama is still consistently tracking at 50 or better in the midst of a recession and two armed conflicts is phenomenally high. That’s not working for you in New Jersey, Virginia, or even Mass. Don’t you get it? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/156 "2010-01-21T04:46:27Z")
> [@Venetian](#): > > Of course it isn’t. The question I have is why anybody else isn’t calling him out on his crap??? You’re the one who posted a bogus number. If you want to start celebrating a Republican victory in 2012, go ahead, but you’re getting way ahead of yourself. Americans disapprove of Congress, not Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Venetian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/aeb1de/32.png) [@Venetian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venetian)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/157 "2010-01-21T04:52:16Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > You’re the one who posted a bogus number. If you want to start celebrating a Republican victory in 2012, go ahead, but you’re getting way ahead of yourself. Americans disapprove of Congress, not Obama. You posted the bogus number. Obama does not have ROCK SOLID support. Man up and admit it. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/158 "2010-01-21T04:54:25Z")
Consistently tracking at 50% is rock solid, numbnuts, especially during a recession, and with troops on two fronts. ---
**Author:** ![Venetian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/aeb1de/32.png) [@Venetian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venetian)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/159 "2010-01-21T05:01:22Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Consistently tracking at 50% is rock solid, numbnuts, especially during a recession, and with troops on two fronts. No, it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698/160 "2010-01-21T05:05:36Z")
You’re spinning your wheels, man. Those numbers are as solid as Ron Jeremy’s hog. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubbing-diogenes-nose-in-reality/525698.md?page=9)