Douglas E. Schoen, a former pollster for President Clinton, and Scott Rasmussen of Rasmussen Reports, in a piece entitled "Obama's Poll Numbers Are Falling to Earth," say it is wrong to conclude President Obama's popularity is indicative of public confidence in the work of his administration:
The American people are coming to express increasingly significant doubts about his initiatives, and most likely support a different agenda and different policies from those that the Obama administration has advanced.
As I wrote in the Obama half-time report, Obama's approval rating is dropping. According to Schoen and Rasmussen, Obama's approval rating is below where President George W. Bush was in an analogous period in 2001:
A detailed examination of presidential popularity after 50 days on the job similarly demonstrates a substantial drop in presidential approval relative to other elected presidents in the 20th and 21st centuries. The reason for this decline most likely has to do with doubts about the administration's policies and their impact on peoples' lives.
Schoen and Rasmussen also tell us that notwithstanding what Obama claims that taxes will be decreased for 95% of Americans, polling indicates that the people "sense" taxes will increase for all Americans because of the stimulus. You still can not fool all of the people all of the time.
Recent Gallup data shows concerns about Obama's radical left-wing agenda:
- Eighty-three percent say they are worried that the steps Mr. Obama is taking to fix the economy may not work and the economy will get worse.
- Eighty-two percent say they are worried about the amount of money being added to the deficit. Seventy-eight percent are worried about inflation growing, and 69% say they are worried about the increasing role of the government in the U.S. economy.
- When Gallup asked whether we should be spending more or less in the economic stimulus, by close to 3-to-1 margin voters said it is better to have spent less than to have spent more.
- When asked whether we are adding too much to the deficit or spending too little to improve the economy, by close to a 3-to-2 margin voters said that we are adding too much to the deficit.
Rasmussen data is similar:
- People now actually oppose Mr. Obama's budget, 46% to 41%. Three-quarters take this position because it will lead to too much spending
- By 2-to-1, voters reject calls for a second stimulus package.
- While over two-thirds support Obama's plan to help homeowners refinance their mortgage, a 48%-36% plurality said that it will unfairly benefit those who have been irresponsible, echoing Rick Santelli's call to arms on CNBC.
- Forty-five percent do not have confidence in Obama's goals and overall direction.
- Less than half would support increasing taxes to pay for an expanded health-insurance program - 17% less than the percentage that supported government health insurance when Bill Clinton considered it in March of 1993.
- Fifty-six percent of Americans oppose giving bankers any additional government money or any guarantees backed by the government.
- A solid majority now opposes the bank bailout, and only 20% think it was a good idea.
- Less than a quarter of Americans believe that the federal government truly reflects the will of the people.
While the polling data is terrible for Obama and the Democrats, there is bad news for the Republicans as well. Schoen and Rasmussen credit "a good measure of the confidence and support the Obama administration has enjoyed" to fact that they are not Republican. More than eight in 10, blame Republicans for the current economic woes, and the only two leaders with lower approval ratings than Democrat leaders Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and John Boehner.
Despite the best efforts of Obama and the extreme left-wing Democrats, we are still a center rifgt nation.
Special Report: Obama's First 100 DaysExclusive examiner.com coverage of the Obama administration's promise to bring about change.
Comments
Don't worry, Rasmussen has always been right-wing biased, just like you
Taking a single poll as evidence of anything is generally a mistake. The poll results will be skewed by the wording of the question, the vagaries of the sample, the news of the day, even the weather. The analysis may be similarly flawed, whether the analysts care to admit it or not. It is far more useful to consolidate the results of as many polls as possible covering the same time frame and perform your own honest analysis. If you do that in this case, it is apparent that your headline is imprecise. What is happening is that the "disapprovers" are increasing, i.e., those that were previously undecided are now disapproving; the percentage of those that approve of the President's performance has decreased only marginally.
It is interesting to note that the same group of polls shows a marked increase in the approval of the congressional performance.
As far as tax increases, those are inevitable, even without the economic stimulus spending. The government was woefully underfunded for years by the prior administration "cooking the books" using unbudgeted emergency spending measures totaling in the trillions of dollars.
It is clear to me that, given our dire straits, an unhelpful polarization is in progress in this country, due primarily, in my humble opinion, to the unfortunate decision of congressional Republicans and conservative political commentators such as yourself to engage in obstructionism rather than temporarily placing the good of the nation before ideology. It would far more useful for you to offer some reasoned alternatives to the administration's proposals, rather than to simply heap invective on them and their source. You can quibble and berate once the emergency has passed.
By the way, where did you get that great "people into the hole" graphic you used in the "DJI down" piece? Although, I must admit, my first thought was that it was the dittoheads following Rush into the hole he made crashing to earth (kidding, sort of).
We are now learning what "Change" means. Too bad the mainstream media didn't ask Obama to define Change during his campaign. Had the American people knew he was going to spend our Grand Children's future and stll voted for him, one would probably see higher approval numbers. Americans do not like radical change to move at the speed it is now moving without prior notice and are seeing it now in the Presidents approval rating.
I would also like to see Obama work without a teleprompter during press conferences. It reminds me of the Wizard of Oz when Toto pulls the curtain. If he shows he can answer real questions on his own without stumbling and stammering, then his approval rating would be higher.
People are finally seeing behind his smooth talk and smokescreens. He says CHANGE, yeah change that's gonna plunge us into a bigger deficit. No wonder his approval rating is dropping like a fly. He should try acting instead, or maybe even basketball, something he's good at.
His approval ratings have always been low with me... I suspect that everybody is finally catching on. His approval was very high with people who I know. In fact, they used to rub my nose into it CONSTANTLY! These days, they seem to stay quiet about it. Unless I miss my guess, I will hear a CHANGE in the attitudes.
Speaking as someone who used to be a liberal, I don't aggree with his liberal politics (Which mirror what mine once were. So don't think that I don't know what is wrong with his thinking. It's the reason I disrespected MY OWN thinking ten years ago.
Hey Bill, after Bush just be glad you have a president that can read a teleprompter.
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