Cheney’s favorable rating higher than Pelosi’s, according to Gallup

According to a series of questions posed by Gallup, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi trails former Vice President Dick Cheney in favorability ratings. A poll taken at the end of May suggests both prominent voices are held unfavorably by a little more than half of Americans (polled); however, Cheney’s overall favorable rating hovers at 37%, while Pelosi’s favorability is at 34%.

What is more interesting is the break down of the total figures:

• While Pelosi’s overall favorability increased during the last two years of the Bush Administration, her unfavorability spiked sharply up 8 points just before January 2009.
• Vice President Cheney’s unfavorability rating steadily increased during the end of the Bush Administration, but his favorability spiked 7 points just after Obama’s inauguration.
• Cheney’s favorability among those who consider themselves “Independent” is 12 points higher than the same demographic for Speaker Pelosi.
• Cheney’s favorability among Republicans is 8 points higher than Speaker Pelosi’s favorability among Democrats.
• Cheney’s favorability among Democrats is 5 points higher than Speaker Pelosi’s favorability among Democrats.

Gallup concludes that:

After President Obama, Pelosi and Cheney are arguably the next most prominent political figures active in the two major parties today. Both have attracted significant news coverage in the mainstream press this year, most recently for their positions on the government’s interrogation policies for suspected terrorists.

That coverage appears to have helped Cheney — at least modestly — in the image department. Given Americans’ concern about closing Guantanamo Bay, his improved ratings since March are arguably related to his ongoing outspokenness on waterboarding, tying it in with U.S. national security.

Pelosi has had a major, high profile role in the legislative agenda of Congress all year, most notably with passage of Obama’s economic stimulus package in January; however the recent controversy over her possible knowledge of waterboarding — and her claim that the CIA misled Congress about briefing her — may have more to do with her depressed favorable ratings, which are down eight points since November.