(thedailybanter.com)
New polls have come out showing that President Obama's approval rating has reached 50%, almost a 10% increase from his 41% approval rating in November during the midterm elections. This is the biggest approval bump since the mission that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011 (Washington Post).While these numbers still lie under a majority, as we've learned in class, it's extremely common for president approval ratings to fall during the 2nd year of his second term. This is because people generally are ready for a "change" by this point and the initial hype of the president has subsided, along with the initial hope that this president shall be the one who turns everything around. After the once idealistic goals become implemented into real programs and legislation, people will inevitably get pissed off that it wasn't exactly what they were promised or it isn't working the rosy way they believed it would.
The Washington Post article also correlates this approval bump with the prospering economy. As we've learned in class, "It's the economy, stupid." In October, 27 of the sample size rated the economy in a positive light; this recent poll revealed that that number has now jumped to 41%. Furthermore, 91% of those who support Obama's economic record also approve of him in general. When the economy is doing well, everyone loves the president.
Questions:
1. Do you think there are any other reasons behind the spike in approval?
2. Do you think Obama is deserving of this high rating (due to his successful economic endeavors) or do you think he just got lucky?
2 comments:
I think that one of the reasons why Obama's approval rating spiked was because of the SOTU address. I think that some people felt really hopeful and optimistic about the future and all of the things that he promised and are looking at him with a better mindset and view. While Obama is deserving of a higher approval rating, I truly believe that the reason for such a big spike was because of the promising policies he proposed.
Although I do believe his SOTU address would elevate his ratings (and people sure love rosy promises), this poll was taken during January 12-15, before the SOTU address on January 20th. My apologies posting this after the address may have misguided you!
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