These ratings are from a Feb. 16-19 USA Today/Gallup poll and reflect a political landscape in which no more than half of Americans give any of these presidential contenders a positive rating.
We often hear (e.g. Selzer) that Obama has lower favourable ratings than other Presidents at this stage of the election cycle. It's interesting to see that this year's Republican candidates are also much more unpopular than other years:
GOP Contenders Less Favorably Positioned Than in Previous Elections
This year's Republican presidential campaign has unfolded in a different fashion than previous years in which non-incumbent Republicans have run for their party's nomination. By February 2008 and February 2000, for example, the eventual GOP nominee was pretty well known. This year, the nominee won't be settled until after February. Perhaps as a result of these different timelines, none of the four Republican presidential contenders currently has an image as positive as those of previous non-incumbent GOP candidates in February of the election year. John McCain's national favorable rating was 56% in February 2008, George W. Bush's was 58% in 2000, and Bob Dole's was 49% in 1996.
The current Republican candidates are, at best, 17 points below the last Republican candidate -- who lost.
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