Opinion polls and puzzling behavior at the White House

July 10, 1:15 PMColumbia Conservative ExaminerAnthony G. Martin

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As pollster Scott Rasmussen reports, this week has not been good for Barack Obama.  The President has experienced a shocking decline in support for his programs, even as the mainstream media continues to tout Obama as 'very popular.'

A mere 51% of Americans now support the Obama plan for the country, down from the 60-65% range just a few short weeks ago.  But the telling figure is number of Americans who now say they oppose the President's legislative initiatives.  Fully 48% now say they either strongly oppose or somewhat oppose Obama.

The President's negatives represent the most surprising movement among the electorate.  One month ago Obama's negatives were in the 30s.  The month before that they were in the 20s.  Thus, in just a few short months, the percentage of Americans who say they oppose Obama has risen from the 20% range to nearly half of the population.

In addition, Rasmussen reports that the number of Americans who are 'strongly' opposed to Obama outnumber those who 'strongly' approve by 7-8 percentage points.  This represents a dramatic shift.  In short, those who oppose Obama tend to be more vehement in their opposition than those who approve are enthusiastic.

Several key issues are driving this dramatic shift in voter preference. 

The Rasmussen Consumer Index shows that consumer confidence is down again on Friday. That’s the sixth straight daily decline and confidence is now at the lowest level since mid-March. Just 8% rate the economy as good or excellent while 62% say it’s in poor shape.

For the second straight month, voters are more likely to trust Republicans than Democrats on the economy. A Rasmussen video report notes that most Americans say the efforts of the G-8 leaders are not likely to help the economy. And, 59% reject the Pope’s call for more international regulation of the economy.

Further, Americans simply disagree with Obama on almost every single policy initiative he has presented.  From socialized medicine to the cap & trade energy tax, from closing Gitmo to the government takeover of private corporations, Americans have indicated their solid opposition to such policies.

And let's not forget the overwhelming public opposition to economic stimulus bailouts of failed corporations.  We have had 2 massive bailouts already--one implemented by Bush and one by Obama.  Congressional Democrats want yet a third.  But the economy is not improving, and the public remains solidly opposed to such government meddling.

With public approval tanking, under normal conditions one would think that the White House would be reconsidering many if not most of its policy initiatives.  Not with this White House, however.  Obama appears to be entrenched no matter what the voters think and no matter how thoroughly his policies fail.

It has been said that the definition of insanity is to continue doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result each time.  In this regard the White House is exhibiting some puzzling behavior.  If 2 stimulus packages fail, propose a 3rd.  If an army of scientists around the globe agree that humans have very little to do with climate change, and the public overwhelmingly opposes a dramatic increase in their energy costs and taxes, keep trying to pass 'cap and trade' anyway.  If 70% of Americans are satisfied with their current healthcare plan, attempt to shove socialized medicine down their throats anyway, in spite of the fact that this has been proposed before with little support from the general public.

In addition, the American public clearly does not want their President apologizing for the United States persistently each time he travels overseas.  Yet Obama continues to do so anyway.

For this reason foreign leaders view Obama as weak.  And weak Presidents tend to invite dubious acts of aggression on the part of foreign powers, such as North Korea.

Many of us joked that Obama's Presidency would be Jimmy Carter's second term.  Increasingly, it would appear this is no joke.

For more commentary on a variety of issues, visit my blog at The Liberty Sphere.