Posted on 03/13/2013 6:59:50 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
We started seeing this with the Reason/Rupe poll almost two weeks ago, which Sean Trende insisted wasn’t really an outlier. Barack Obama’s approval rating started sliding in Gallup, and last week Reuters had him at 43%. Today, the Washington Post reports that Obama has lost five points in approval in their latest poll, with the most significant decline in his economic policies:
The afterglow of President Obama’s reelection and inauguration appears to have vanished as increasingly negative views among Americans about his stewardship of the economy have forced his public approval rating back down to the 50 percent mark, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
In December, just after he won a second term, Obama held an 18-percentage-point advantage over congressional Republicans on the question of whom the public trusted more to deal with the economy. Now, it’s a far more even split — 44 percent to 40 percent, with a slight edge for the president — but the share of those saying they have confidence in “neither” has ticked up into double digits.
As one might expect, it’s the middle that has shifted:
Obama’s overall job-approval rating stands at 50 percent, down five points from before he took the oath of office in January. Looking along partisan lines, the slippage since then has been particularly pronounced among political independents. Two months ago, independents tilted clearly in his direction, with 54 percent approving and 41 percent disapproving. Now, half of independents express a negative opinion of the president’s performance; just 44 percent approve.
For those keeping track of sample demos, this one’s a D+8 at 33/25 — probably about the same split as the election last November, at least in practical terms. That’s close to the same split as their last few polls, so this probably isn’t a sampling artifact. The movement in the other polls corroborate the trend. Gallup shows Obama above water too, but down to 49/44.
As I’ve written before, this is the outcome from attempting to incite hysteria over a small reduction in the rate of increase in federal spending. While the respondents in this poll view the sequester cuts negatively, the split isn’t that wide at 39/53. Almost three-quarters (73%) have felt no impact at all from the sequester, and only 25% report a major negative impact. And while 64% believe that the cuts will have a net negative impact on the economy, only half of those believe it will have a major negative impact.
In fact, Gallup’s poll from yesterday finds confidence rebounding after the sequester cuts went into effect:
Americans’ confidence in the economy improved last week after it was shaken during the debate in Washington about the budget sequestration. Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index improved to -17 from -22 the prior week, when the budget sequestration took effect. Still, last week’s score is nine percentage points lower than the five-year high reached in early February.
That would be, of course, about the time that Obama launched his Nightmare on Sequester Street campaign to scare Americans about the ruin that would occur if federal spending was reduced 2.3% after having it rise 37% since 2007. The level now in Gallup’s poll is still significantly higher than it was when Obama declared that “the private sector is doing just fine” last June, when it hit -26.
Given the history of Obama’s approval ratings, I wouldn’t expect this to last a long time. It is, however, a reminder that there is a price to pay for screaming that the sky is falling when it’s barely even cloudy.
Sadly, too late.
When the US economy collapses this Spring and big time in late Fall...I wonder what it will be then?
Doesn’t matter. The masses will vote themselves “free money”. Good ‘ole Ben Franklin was correct, it’s over at this point.
the public is catching on to Obama Jivethon's Lying Circus' comic parody of an American administration . . . .
That is why he made a big show of inviting McCain and Grahamnesty to dinner at that hotel, so now next year campaigning for mid-term he will keep saying he tried his best to reach out and compromise.
It will be Bush's fault!
Personal opinion....
Much of this has to do with the fact that Obamacare is now far enough along in it’s implementation that people are actually starting to feel it’s effects.
Employers dropping health plans. Rates skyrocketing for those who still do. Employers whacking their employees to part-time under 29 hours. It’s all starting to hit the fan.
IMO Republicans are wandering around in total disarray and too clueless to take advantage of the situation. BO has been allowed to set too many things in motion - stripping 2nd Amendment rights, more Obamacare regs, no budget, massive illegal amnesty, nuclear threats from Iran and N Korea, Afghanistan draw down, Syria, Egypt and Africa chaos, to name a few.
Until Republicans can come up with strong, organized leadership who can put a plan together and then work that plan effectively, BO’s approval rate matters little.
They caught on in 2012, but were overwhelmed by the "divide and conquer" media blitz, and the national get out the (fraudulent) vote campaign.
To quote the evil Hillary, “What difference does it make?”
He has 3 more years to undermine the rule of law and assault our liberties. The same ones who are ‘figuring out’ all is not well in Obamaland will vote for their own snakey redistributionists in 2014. We are but a hair’s breadth away from losing our representative form of government forever, assuming the Marxist/Democrats win the House in 2014, which they may well do with the assistance of the Marxist collaborating press, the corrupt DOJ (pronounced ‘voter fraud’), Obama’s demonic ability to stir up the mob for his nefarious purposes, and the 47% who claim the unalienable right to subsist upon the fruit of another’s labor.
My personal belief is that Obama will NEVER leave office if the Marxist/Democrats regain the House in 2014, and that we will be plunged into the abyss of socialist tyranny, much as Venezuala under the tyrant Chavez.
How is that possible when everything’s fine? /sarc
RE: That is why he made a big show of inviting McCain and Grahamnesty to dinner at that hotel,
I believe Paul Ryan was invited as well.
Doesn’t much matter is he slides to 0%...we are stuck with the bassturd and he doesn’t have to care....
He just lovestis Pope thing...It gives him an excuse to hide....again.......Miserable monster....
Who cares? He certainly doesn't
Nothing to say here. I told you folks the day after the election in November, when the House of Representatives stayed in the Republican corner, that Obama was a “Lame Duck”!!! Fact: Obama is not only a useless POTUS, he is a useless human being!!!
Bounce back in what way?
I’m sorry, the GOP is still here, and will be around for awhile in SOME form, and as we have seen they are attacking the tea party and members sent to DC by the tea party, and they are very feckless “leaders” themselves.
It’s a story to watch...as to whether Obama and the Dems can return the House to Pelosi control...but I’m not sure that’s what you meant by Obama destroying the GOP. Is it?
Are you predicting that the House will have Dems and SanFranNan back in charge next year?
What I’m struggling with is what is the connection between the GOP’s public standing and Obama bouncing back? Already these party bigs are destroying themselves. But still Obama’s approval went down after he went careening around the country threatening us with sequester doom and tying it to lack of new taxes on “the rich”.
John McCain and Lindsey Graham are savaging
Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, but still Obama’s approval went down. If the Dems were to win back the House in 2014, that would indicate Obama had already “bounced back” in order for voters to trust the Dems and Obama with the total federal government. If Obama is polling poorly in 2014, people would not want to give him the House back, too.
I KNOW he’s doing all he can to discredit the GOP and blame them for everything that’s wrong. I get that. I just don’t see how his polling is going to improve if he “destroys the GOP”. If he could destroy them (before they destroy themselves), that would likely mean his polling was already pretty good and people were going along with his antics.
That is not making me feel any better.
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