For the first time ever, Obama's overall job approval rating is below 50%. It is currently 47%, according to this article on msnbc.com. Also, for the first time since September 2007, 45% see the Democratic party in a "negative light". 55% believe that the country is on the wrong track. This is the highest in the Obama presidency.
Personally, I believe that these feelings are only natural during times of economic crisis. But hey, what do you folks think?
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13 comments:
I agree with you omid, usually during economic crisis does the presidential approval rating dip. does anyone think Obama is is leading wrong direction?
Although I haven't been following Obama's presidency religiously, I would agree with the polls. When Obama was elected, history was made- he was first African-America president in our nation's history! Because of this, I believe that many Americans had high hopes and expectations for Obama during his first 100 days and even for the future, similar to when FDR became president. However, from what we've learned in AP Gov, Congress makes it very difficult for bills to get passed. There are many areas where bills can are denied or stalled (filibusters) and referred back to floors, starting the whole process over.
Obama is just a man. He can't control the government (the founding fathers made it that way). He's trying his best, but getting all his ideas across Congress is a difficult task. In addition, sending out more troops to fight in the war is not helping his rating either.
I completely agree with Brian. During the campaign/election, people practically worshipped Obama for reasons other than his politics. Some of that illusion is starting to fade now, and people are realizing that he is just a human and not a super hero, despite what the cartoon said, and that he can't change the world in 1 year. There's bound to be some disappointment, if nothing else because people's ridiculously idealistic image of him has been shattered. Plus, it is completely normal for presidents' ratings to drop as their presidency progresses.
I agree with Brian and Rachel. During the time of election many people put very high expectations on Obama in changing the economy quickly. People believed that he could turn this economy around now, but he is only human. Also many things in the economy are out of the president's hand. During the an economical downtime, it will take time for the economy to come back.
I agree with Omid. Many people expect Obama to somehow fix the economic crisis, but most do not realize that this task is both time consuming and difficult. I'm sure that once the economy gets better Obama's approval rating will increase.
I think everyone should just give Obama a break. He can't do everything at once, especially fixing the economy right at this moment. When we went over the Federalist Papers (?) the article talked about how the president can't be "superman" and most of the time the U.S. citizens think of him that way. Just like Brian said, getting a bill passed is a very long and tedious process that not everyone understands.
-Emily Niemann
Like we said in class, one thing that constrains the ability of a president to enact his agenda is time. It may take more time than Obamas presidency to fix the economy, therefore his approval rating may drop even lower if there arent dramatic changes for the better in the economy soon. And like Brian and Rachel said, Obama had high expectations that were ulimately impossible to live up to.
I agree with Brian and Rachel and I think that the J-Curve Hypothesis trend was a big influence. People were expecting things to happen, and he did not deliver it in time. Now people are disappointed.
This is pretty shocking, because of the HUGE support base he had at the beginning of his election.
I have to admit that I am somewhat disappointed in Obama myself, and I hope that he ends up doing all that he promised to.
We definitely don't need another George Bush.
And just like we learn in Gov., once a presidents term begins, the only direction their popularity goes is down unless they get reelected. And like what everyone else is saying, everyone has put so much hope on Obama, and because he is only a man and can not change everything for the better, his popularity goes down.
While I was an Obama supporter during the election, part of his attraction and success was his celebrity. He was/is obviously a people person and gave a nation what it wanted to here-that things could change, with the understanding that it would happen soon...and fast. People put far too much pressure and expectation into a man largely because he is not an old white elitist, a change in the type of president we've had for decades. Remember, he's still a politician, and realistically nothing was going to change THAT quickly, whether you see it as a failure because he didn't live up to our expectations or you never liked him in the first place. We weren't fair or reasonable from the start. And its not fair or reasonable now to severely chastize a leader for one bad (depending on how you look at it ofcourse) move, which he obviously believes is in the nations best interests.
Bottom line: its a bump in the road, but please people, lets be realistic
I think that it is only natural that his approval ratings will drop and even fluctuate. Every decision that Obama makes will be judged by the entire country, and each decision will probably be disliked by half of the country. He has his own agenda, but in order to enact it, it will take time. Time is one of the greatest factors in failure, and while it may seem like a failure to some, we must wait and see how it all works out. While I do not agree with the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and am skeptical about Obama's choice to send more troops to Afghanistan, I have faith that it will all play out to be fine. I hope that the rest of the country agrees. while Obama may not have lived up to the high expectations of his first one hundred days, I believe that ultimately he will end up in a good light in the eyes of Americans.
-Jane Hayashi-
I find the fact that a President's approval rating is dependent on the economic situation to be ridiculous. The President can do next to nothing about the economy.
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