[Moonman62]

Reagan actually used the veto, and he took his political enemies to task with truth and humor. He ruffled some feathers and the country is much better off for it, though he did lose some percentage points in the popularity contests.

[jagrmeister]

You are right about Reagan. But remember that despite their similar stance on policy, Bush and Reagan are different men. A leader must adopt a style that matches his personality. I don't know that Bush would fare well in a war of words with Democrats. His approach is to let the GOP House and Senate battle the Dems in Congress, stay above the fray, and sell his plans to the American people directly. To succeed based on the lessons of great men before you, do not necessarily do what they did, seek what they sought.

[RLK]

Reagan actually used the veto, and he took his political enemies to task with truth and humor. He ruffled some feathers and the country is much better off for it, though he did lose some percentage points in the popularity contests.

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This is one analytic area. Nobody who is doing anything and confronting the opposition is going to have 90% approval ratings. Offending people who need offending will lower your approval ratings, but means an effective president. Any president today who doesn't create solid asnger in 30% of the population is giving the wrong people too much of what they want. Specifically, I want anyone who voted for the Clintons to be undergoing grand mal seisures.

Another area is defining what approval is and how approval is defined in the poll questions.