“There’s a reason that political analysts focus on a president’s popularity just before midterm elections: It’s often a good barometer of the national mood,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
”Only two presidents in recent decades have defied the trend of a president’s party losing seats in midterms: Bill Clinton in 1998, and George W. Bush in 2002. They had the highest pre-midterm ratings in Wall Street Journal polling, dating to 1990, with more than 60% of voters approving of their job performance and about 30% disapproving.”