Bush's Polarity Tops Clinton's

And you thought the dislike of Clinton among Republicans and his popularity among Democrats represented unprecedented polar opposition in American politics.

You thought wrong. Turns out the like-Bush and hate-Bush crowds are much farther apart than the comparable Clinton crowds, according to the study reported in this article:

Bush is a measurably polarizing figure. Republican Bill McInturff of the polling firm Public Opinion Strategies uses an "intensity range" to show that public attitudes are significantly stronger on this president than they were on President Clinton in 1996 or Bush's father, former President Bush, in 1992.

When McInturff adds the percentage of Democrats who strongly disapprove of Bush (69 percent) to the percentage of Republicans who strongly approve of him (68 percent), the "intensity range" is 137 percent -- almost double the 72 percent range for the elder Bush. The range for Clinton (in this case, Republican disapproval added to Democratic approval) was 92 percent.

"It's stunning. I have never in my life seen these kinds of numbers on the level of intensity on both sides," McInturff said. "We are seeing the largest gap in American history in approval and disapproval by party. The level at which people are locking in is without precedent."