Those Wacky 8-Percenters

The Strib is reporting a Rasmussen poll on the state-wide approval ratings of various Minnesota Politicians. The poll shows, among other things, good news for both our Senators . .and really no real bad news for anyone, with the reported approval ratings not below 50% for anyone - which is really kind of surprising given that a lot of the analysis following the governor elections out east a few weeks ago was that people were mad at incumbents - I don't think anyone has really figured out what the message from those elections was (more on that later).

There was one thing that really caught my eye in the poll numbers, though. Statewide 58% of people polled approve of the job that Klobuchar is doing - not surprising, she has shown herself to be a nice combination of tough, smart, thoughtful, and very Minnesotan. Now the surprising part is that 50% of people polled statewide approve of the job that Michelle Bachmann is doing. Now, my point here is not to say that I think Klobuchar is good and Michelle is bad - if you're a socially conservative, anti-government libertarian, Michelle is your gal. My point is that, apparently, 8% of people in this state approve of the job that both Bachmann and Klobuchar are doing. Huh?!?!?

So, who are these people? Do they just appreciate politicians who are good at what they do, regardless of what they do? Are they just too Minnesota nice to tell a pollster anything bad about anyone? Are they not paying attention? Bachmann and Klobuchar are so far on either end of the ideological spectrum, it's hard to understand how one person can approve of both.

Our recent elections in Minnesota seem to show that we have a near 45/45 split between liberals and conservatives. Anyone who can figure out what the heck these 8% are thinking will have a long and impressive political future in Minnesota.