President Obama's Ambitious Plans Face Bumpy Poll Numbers

by Pythiian1 | August 6, 2009 at 05:33 pm

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On the eve of his 200th day in office, President Barack Obama has not shown any sign of slowing down since his inauguration.

The President has traveled to Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and Africa, and in between, he has restructured the auto industry, nominated and received confirmation on his first Supreme Court appointment, wound down the US military presence in Iraq, proposed to increase US troops in Afghanistan, and pushed hard on health care reform.

President Obama's ambitious agenda has come at a price, insofar as his plans have contributed to the erosion of his own popularity among the American public. While he still enjoys a broad support, various polls are showing his approval rating has slipped to the 50s range.

In the most recent CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, 56 percent of Americans approve of how Obama is handling his job, down 5 points from June. Also in the current poll, 40 percent disapprove of the job he's doing.

And 65 percent of Americans believe the president has tried to handle more issues than he should have, according to the same poll.

President Obama, however, is currently facing an increasingly hostile public on two key issues: health care and the war in Afghanistan on the eve of his 200th day.

Polls are known to vary according to the type of questions posed to the respondents. Therefore, it is not surprising to see the differences among the four polls, CNN/Opinion Research Corp, Quinnipiac University National, Ipsos-McClatchy, and Gallup.

Ipsos: "Obama's Approval Rating Holds Steady at 58%"

Gallup: "Obama Job Approval Edges Up to 56% - Rating up from administration low point of 52% early last week"

Quinnipiac: "Obama's Approval Drops To 50 Percent, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds"

President Obama received only 44 percent of American public approval of his performance on health care now, down from 50 percent since April. The public support for President Obama's handling of Afghanistan has decreased to 45 percent, down from 51 percent in April.

Obama has seen a recent decline in public support on two key issues: health care and the war in Afghanistan. On health care, only 44 percent of Americans approve of his performance now, down from 50 percent in April. Public support for his handling of Afghanistan is lower as well, with only 45 percent voicing approval, down from 51 percent in April.

It is apparent that the new Quinnipiac University poll reveals the public deep anxiety over the Obama administration's health-care overhaul, while also showing broad support for some elements of the plan.

The poll surveyed 2,409 registered voters nationwide and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Exactly half of the registered voters surveyed from July 27 to Aug. 3 by Quinnipiac said they approve of the job Mr. Obama is doing, compared with 42 percent who disapprove. That’s down from 57 percent approval and 33 percent disapproval in a poll taken in late June, according to results released today.

Americans are upset about health-care plans making their way through Congress that will add to the U.S. budget deficit, said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Hamden, Connecticut-based polling institute. The combination has helped drive down the president’s ratings.

On a more upbeat report, the new Ipsos-McClatchy poll shows an increase of 6 percent Americans who said that the country is heading in the right direction. In a similar survey taken in Jul. 9-13, only 40 percent said the country was headed in the right direction.

The cautiously optimistic public mood can be attributed to the stock market rebound and related evidence the economy is poised for a comeback.

The unemployment rate has dropped from 9.5 to 9.4 percent according to the latest Labor Department report.

Even some of the poll numbers are looking a bit better for Obama; a new Ipsos-McClatchy survey found 46 percent of Americans believe the country is on the right track, up 6 points in the last three weeks. But his performance on health care still gets mixed reviews.

The improving public mood coincides with a stock-market rebound and increasing evidence that the economy is poised for a comeback. The new survey also found that 56 percent think that the economy has stabilized, up from 49 percent earlier in July.

Payrolls fell by 247,000, after a 443,000 loss in June, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The jobless rate dropped to 9.4 percent from 9.5 percent.

The Quinnipiac University poll also indicates that President Obama's job-approval rating has also suffered some further erosion since last month. This is the lowest approval rating that President Obama has seen since coming into office.

A new Quinnipiac University poll shows that President Obama's approval rating among Americans has fallen seven points in the last month, from 57 percent to 50 percent, with just 45 percent of independent voters approving of the job he's doing.

In spite of the currently lowering poll numbers, the true critical test for President Obama remains to be the 2010 mid-term election, which will be a referendum, so to speak, on his first two years.

It should be a concern to the Obama administration that moderate Democrats will not go along with the Obama's policies, if the President appears to be unpopular with the independent voters in their districts.

Related NP article by Jordan: CNN.com Report card: Grading the First 200 Days

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I really do not think Obama will be worried its a case of the propaganda kicking in from the republicans. If he just moves on and meets with most of his promises of which I have an hunch he will. When the propaganda is proved to be wrong more of the public will side with him.

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President Obama's Ambitious Plans Face Bumpy Poll Numbers

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