Few Americans want to be president, poll finds

NEWS AND OPINION:

The race for the White House is a big, bodacious election — and those who win the role of U.S. president are guaranteed a significant spot in history.

Yet the idea of actually being president has sparse appeal for Americans — even if they only held the role for a 24-hour period. Yes, there’s a poll.

“Being the ‘Leader of the Free World’ is not a job that interests many Americans, though those who want the post are confident that they would perform better than the average U.S. president,” reports YouGov, the national pollster.

“Ahead of President’s Day, YouGov asked Americans how interested they would be in serving as President of the United States for a day. Most (55%) say they are not very interested or not at all interested in such a role, with Democrats and Republicans equally likely to express disinterest,” the survey analysis said.

Yes, 55% of both Democrats and Republicans would spurn the White House job, along with 47% of men and 63% of women, the research said. And by the way, 43% of the respondents overall said they would do a better job compared to the performance of the average U.S. president throughout history.

These sentiments occur despite the fact that the presidential role is a monumental one.

Consider that the Republican and Democratic parties spent $8.5 billion on political ads during the 2020 presidential election, according to AdAge. There were a record-breaking 158.4 million ballots cast by U.S. voters says the Pew Research Center. Some 57 million viewers watch primetime election coverage, according to Nielsen Media Research.

But wait. It’s not just the commander-in-chief position that many Americans say they’d rather skip. When asked whether they would rather be the U.S. president, the Supreme Court chief justice, or the House speaker, 31% of Americans say none of these positions interest them. Of those who would take a role, they are split between president (27%) and chief justice (26%). Just 9% are interested in becoming House speaker, the poll revealed.

The YouGov Daily Agenda of 4,257 U.S. adults was conducted Feb. 15-16.

TWO PRESIDENTS, ONE STAGE

The situation in Ukraine has provided a handy stage for President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to an Axios analysis.

“Never in the history of warfare have two sides offered a real-time, play-by-play deconstruction of movements toward imminent war,” wrote Dave Lawler, world editor at Axios, in an analysis.

“President Biden and Vladimir Putin are playing public mind games to shape the narrative and get inside the heads of a global audience — and each other — to gain the upper hand in an information war as a possible prelude to a real one,” he said.

“Why it matters: U.S. officials say Putin is stoking disinformation in order to blame Ukraine if Russia invades. The White House is trying to announce Putin’s plays before he runs them — a novel and risky strategy they hope might stave off an invasion, or at least help unify the international community against it,” Mr. Lawler wrote.

MEANWHILE, THERE’S A HOLIDAY

Monday’s federal holiday has a complex pedigree.

“George Washington was born in Virginia on February 11, 1731, according to the then-used Julian calendar. In 1752, however, Britain and all its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar which moved Washington’s birthday a year and 11 days to February 22, 1732,” reports U.S. Archives in a statement.

“Americans celebrated Washington’s birthday long before Congress declared it a federal holiday. The centennial of his birth prompted festivities nationally and Congress established a Joint Committee to arrange for the occasion,” the federal agency continued.

“At the recommendation of the Committee, chaired by Henry Clay of the Senate and Philemon Thomas of the House, Congress adjourned on February 22, 1832 out of respect for Washington’s memory and in commemoration of his birth.”

The date became a legal holiday in 1879, and was later included in the Monday Holiday Law — which created the three-day weekend holiday — in 1968.

“Contrary to popular belief, neither Congress nor the President has ever stipulated that the name of the holiday observed as Washington’s Birthday be changed to ‘President’s Day,’” the statement advised.

A PRESIDENTIAL AUCTION

The traditional home of the nation’s first president has a public online auction underway for dozens of choice items and experiences, both expensive and thrifty. That would be George Washington’s Mount Vernon, which is using the auction as a fundraiser for the magnificent and historic site.

Items up for bid include a private fife lesson with the resident fifer on the premises, table linens, getaways to other historically-minded spots, toy soldiers, golf packages, china, books — well, you get the idea.

Everything has been donated.

“Proceeds from this event will support the restoration and preservation of George Washington’s beloved home, Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon is not a government-funded park or agency. We rely on the generosity of friends like you for contributions needed to save George Washington’s historic estate,” the organization says, adding that bidding is open until 10 p.m. EST Tuesday.

Consult MountVernon.org, and check the Calendar heading, located in the upper left-hand corner of the site.

POLL DU JOUR

• 37% of U.S. adults “strongly disapprove” of the way President Biden has been handling foreign policy; 79% of Republicans, 40% of independents and 7% of Democrats agree.

• 14% overall “somewhat disapprove” of how he has been handling foreign policy; 11% of Republicans, 18% of independents and 10% of Democrats agree.

• 24% overall “somewhat approve” of Mr. Biden’s foreign policy; 4% of Republicans, 23% of independents and 40% of Democrats agree.

• 14% overall “strongly approve” of his foreign policy; 2% of Republicans, 7% of independents and 32% of Democrats agree.

• 11% overall are not sure about the issue; 4% of Republicans, 11% of independents and 11% of Democrats agree.

SOURCE: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted Feb. 12-15.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.