Finger To The Breeze
No wonder the Object In Chief’s worried about whipsaw.
Clinton admin windsock Schoen and pollster Rasmussen at WSJ describe “a substantial degree of polarization so early in the administration” and a “decidely negative” trend in support for his performance and his proposals.
It is simply wrong for commentators to continue to focus on President Barack Obama’s high levels of popularity, and to conclude that these are indicative of high levels of public confidence in the work of his administration. Indeed, a detailed look at recent survey data shows that the opposite is most likely true. 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.
Nobody governs by poll like the Dems, nor expects government by poll like them. Read on. If Republicans can stop taking potshots at each other with Obama ammo, and organize a line to fire back, they might find a message they can all get behind in there.
While over two-thirds support the 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.
And although a narrow majority remains confident in Mr. Obama’s goals and overall direction, 45% say they do not have confidence, a number that has been growing since the inauguration less than two months ago. With three-quarters saying that they expect the economy to get worse, it is hard to see these numbers improving substantially.
There is no real appetite for increasing taxes to pay for an expanded health-insurance program. Less than half would support such an idea, which is 17% less than the percentage that supported government health insurance when Bill Clinton first considered it in March of 1993.
While voters blame Republicans for the lack of bipartisanship in Washington, the fact is that they do not believe Mr. Obama has made any progress in improving the impulse towards cooperation between the two parties. Further, nearly half of voters say that politics in Washington will be more partisan over the next year.
Fifty-six percent of Americans oppose giving bankers any additional government money or any guarantees backed by the government. Two-thirds say Wall Street will benefit more than the average taxpayer from the new bank bailout plan. This represents a jump in opposition to the first plan passed last October. At that time, 45% opposed the bailout and 30% supported it. Now a solid majority opposes the bank bailout, and 20% think it was a good idea. A majority believes that Mr. Obama will not be able to cut the deficit in half by the end of his term.
Only less than a quarter of Americans believe that the federal government truly reflects the will of the people. Almost half disagree with the idea that no one can earn a living or live “an American life” without protection and empowerment by the government, while only one-third agree.
Despite the economic stimulus that Congress just passed and the budget and financial and mortgage bailouts that Congress is now debating, just 19% of voters believe that Congress has passed any significant legislation to improve their lives. While Congress’s approval has increased, it still stands at only 18%. Over two-thirds of voters believe members of Congress are more interested in helping their own careers than in helping the American people. When it comes to the nation’s economic issues, two-thirds of voters have more confidence in their own judgment than they do in the average member of Congress.
So what do the Dems have going for them?
… what probably accounts for a good measure of the confidence and support the Obama administration has enjoyed is the fact that they are not Republicans. Virtually all Americans, more than eight in 10, blame Republicans for the current economic woes, and the only two leaders with lower approval ratings than Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and John Boehner.
That’s going to change. Two years is a long time. Four years is even longer. Here’s an idea. Howzabout Republican leaders and figureheads stop angsting and arguing … or preening … about who and what they are and were, and focus on saying what they believe in and want going forward. Much the way those people who are looking for leadership are doing all on their own. Arguing about who lost the last battle wears thin in a long war … as Dems will learn and Republicans need to find out.
There’s bitterness on the left. After all the years of Bushwhacking, it’ll probably take a while to get used to being on the receiving end.
Hot Air: The man who fell to Earth.
Gateway helpfully charts it.
Still more bitterness on the left. Slightly off topic, but here’s the potty-mouthed communications instructor also known as John Cole whining about the semantics of Guantanamo.
One of the Cornerites quipped “Maybe President Bush should have just changed the name of Guantamo,” and the truth hurts. I wasn’t one of the wild-eye Obama supporters who thought everything was going to be different the moment he took office, and I still think it is far to early to judge the overall policy of Team Obama, but it sure looks like they are dropping the ball on many of these issues. It really is infuriating.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 10:23 am Comments (2) on Friday, March 13, 2009
2 Responses to “Finger To The Breeze”
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March 13th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
“… what probably accounts for a good measure of the confidence … is the fact that they are not Republicans. ”
And the fact that virtually all of their supporters are f*cking idiots.
March 13th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
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