Dick Cheney Is More Popular Than Nancy Pelosi

By Bill ~ June 5th, 2009 @ 8:27 pm

Back in January, as the Bush Administration was coming to a close and the Obama Administration was beginning, Vice President Dick Cheney was having a popularity problem. Only 30% of Americans had a favorable opinion of him. At the same time, Nancy Pelosi was viewed favorably by 40% of the country. Fast forward to June and see how things have changed. Due to both individuals position on enhanced interrogation techniques (EIT) employed at Gitmo, one’s favorable ratings have been improved and the other’s ratings have gotten lower. Mrs. Pelosi chose to accuse the previous administration of violating international laws prohibiting torture and accuse the CIA of lying to her and other members of Congress. Mr. Cheney, on the other hand, chose to vigorously defend himself, the CIA and his former boss.

According to a poll conducted by the Gallup Organization, the American people seem to agree more with Mr. Cheney’s position than with Mrs. Pelosi’s stance on EIT. The poll shows that Mr. Cheney’s favorable ratings have gone up to 37% and Mrs. Pelosi’s favorable ratings have gone down to 34%. Cheney has gone head-to-head with President Obama to defend and support CIA interrogation tactics, correctly stating that those tactics have helped improve homeland security. Pelosi has spent most of the same period trying to investigate and the Bush administration and condemning EIT.

After President Obama, Pelosi and Cheney are arguably the next most prominent political figures active in the two major parties today. Both have attracted significant news coverage in the mainstream press this year, most recently for their positions on the government’s interrogation policies for suspected terrorists. That coverage appears to have helped Cheney’s approval ratings. Considering the level of concern Americans’ have about closing Gitmo, his improved ratings are arguably related to his ongoing outspokenness on EIT, tying it to homeland security.

Mrs. Pelosi has played a leadership role in the legislative agenda of Congress all year, most notably with passage of Obama’s porkulus bill in January. However the recent controversy over her possible knowledge of EIT, and her claim that the CIA lied to her during briefings probably have more to do with her lowered favorable ratings.