Matt Blunt: Not Peaking Too Early

Survey USA reports that, of all 50 governors, Matt Blunt ranks 48th in approval rating, with a 33% approval rating and a 57% disapproval rating.

At Another Rovian Conspiracy, St Wendeler attributes it to people reading the heavily slanted news reports bashing Blunt's battle to trim the growth of the state budget. He might be right.

Dustbury offers this analysis:

The average is 48/41; bringing up the rear are some people with serious problems, Ohio's Bob Taft being the worst off by a considerable margin. There doesn't seem to be any party preference: Republicans hold the top two and the bottom three slots. Of course, none of this is guaranteed to last.

I see that Arnold Schwarzenegger also comes in under average at #40, so I offer this analysis: Governors trying to do the right thing with state government, such as Schwarzenegger and Blunt are unpopular because they tee off a bunch of different interests with their varied cash cow government programs. So perhaps it's a testament to Blunt's doing the right thing by all Missouri citizens that so many don't like him.

But, on a positive note, Blunt still comes in in the middle of the pack (#25) when sorted alphabetically by state name. Sorting by governor name, he comes in much higher.