I have found it to be the most accurate measure to apply especially in a politician. If he/she is hated equally by both far fringes of the political spectrum that means he/she is both doing things and i doing things in a thoughtful manner. Bush and Reagan are the only presidents I have seen that share that dynamic. Bush barely won his first term as governor over a popular incumbent and then won re-election with 70% of the vote. While he will not win his 2nd presidential term by that margin he is in the political "sweet spot" for his 2nd term. The democrats have gone so far to the left that Bush OWNS both the center right and the Center left. He is polling 2 to one with independents. The "base' of the GOP and Bush especially has no relation to the base of 92 that defected to Perot. The first real test for that new base was in California where a Moderate Republican won a landslide over both a red meat conservative and a flaming liberal.