Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admitted to smoking crack cocaine, has been in "drunken stupors," and was caught on camera in an expletive-laced rant. But he's still having a better month than President Barack Obama.
Ford has the approval of 42 percent of 1,049 Toronto voters surveyed by Forum Research. The poll results, released on Friday, came as Ford saw most of his powers stripped by the city council in Canada's largest city.
South of the border, Obama must wish he were doing that well.
Ford, who was elected in 2010 on a pledge to cut government spending, also has said he bought illegal drugs and drove after drinking. The mayor has been lampooned on late-night TV for his erratic behavior, which includes a drunken rant caught on camera and knocking over a city council member.
Obama has also been the butt of late-night jokes over various fiascoes since his second term began in January — widespread snooping on Americans and world leaders by the National Security Agency, the IRS' targeting of conservative and tea party groups, and, lately, the botched rollout of Obamacare.
These scandals have caused the president's approval ratings to plunge to new lows in recent weeks.
A CNN/ORC International poll released on Thursday showed that only 41 percent of Americans liked his performance in the White House, the lowest level in CNN polling. Fifty-six percent said they disapproved, an all-time high in CNN surveys.
The CNN survey is the fourth released this week to put Obama's approval rating between 40 percent and 42 percent — and it is among several dismal polling results for the president released over the past three weeks.
Obama's approval rating has reached new lows or tied his all-time lows in surveys conducted by CBS News, ABC News/Washington Post, Quinnipiac University, National Journal Heartland Monitor, and NBC News/Wall Street Journal.
In fact, the CBS News survey released Wednesday put Obama's approval rating at just 37 percent.
