This Wall Street Journal Online provides this nifty graphic overview of the approval ratings of all U.S. presidents since Truman. Take a few minutes to check it out and enjoy the surprises of a quick history refresher. For example, I had forgotten about the length of the bounce in President Carter’s approval ratings after the Iranian hostage crisis began in late 1979. Of course, that bounce didn’t last as the hostage crisis dragged on for over a year, contributing substantially to Carter’s loss to Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election.