(Lorie Byrd-Americanissuesproject).According to the most recent polls, the President’s approval numbers are dropping like a rock. Perhaps of even greater concern to the President are the numbers for the generic congressional ballot showing Republicans ahead of Democrats for the past eight weeks. November 2010 is an eternity away in political time, but the numbers today are something that should be of great concern to Democrats and the President. The numbers are also evidence that many winners in the 2008 election misread their mandate.
The latest Gallup poll shows presidential approval at 51 percent, with 41 percent disapproval. To understand just how much that number has changed since the President took office in January, consider that the numbers in the same poll for the January 21-23 period were 68-12 percent. A gap of 56 percent between approval and disapproval has shrunken to 10 percent.
Americans voted on an agenda of “hope ‘n change”, but I would argue many voted on the basis of personality and image. They chose the young, black fist-bumping rock star over the man often caricatured as a cranky, old white guy. The vote was about change from what was, rather than a vote in favor of any specific agenda. Since Obama provided few policy details during the campaign, he made quite a leap to interpret the election results as a mandate for the liberal agenda he has pursued as president, and now that is being reflected in opinion polls.
According to the latest Rasmussen poll, “43% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 38% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.” Of even greater significance, independent voters now favor the GOP 45%-18%. The same poll now even shows women preferring the GOP over Democrats.
Another Rasmussen poll shows respondents for the first time in over two years trusting Republicans more on the issue of health care.
Americans are not thrilled with the change they have gotten. The bailouts and stimulus plan were answered with protests which, in a matter of months, became the Tea Party movement. But the debate over health care is what has elicited the most intense public reaction. That is not surprising considering health care is such an incredibly personal issue.
The President and Democrats have gotten into trouble with the public because they believed voters gave them the congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008 because they wanted a more liberal government. If Democrats won elections by campaigning as liberals, explaining the specifics of their policy proposals, that might be true.
What is more often the case is that those who win elections campaign as conservatives or moderates. Unfortunately that does not mean they govern that way. Obama and the Democrats criticized George Bush for spending and running up deficits, but within months of taking office added trillions of dollars of deficit spending.
Just because voters were angry at corporate executives collecting big bonuses at the same time thousands of people were losing their jobs, did not mean they wanted the government deciding how much money those in private enterprise could make.
Just because voters wanted the American car industry to survive and thrive, did not mean they wanted the government to go into the car business -- deciding which executives should be hired and fired and guaranteeing car warranties.
Just because voters wanted change from what have been increasingly high health care costs, did not mean they wanted a plan that would give the government so much control over the industry.
Americans did not vote for a far left agenda, even though they voted for one of the most liberal presidential candidates in the history of the country. Those who interpreted the 2006 and 2008 elections as major shifts to the left, or any kind of mandate to govern from the far left, misjudged the results.
The latest Gallup poll shows presidential approval at 51 percent, with 41 percent disapproval. To understand just how much that number has changed since the President took office in January, consider that the numbers in the same poll for the January 21-23 period were 68-12 percent. A gap of 56 percent between approval and disapproval has shrunken to 10 percent.
Americans voted on an agenda of “hope ‘n change”, but I would argue many voted on the basis of personality and image. They chose the young, black fist-bumping rock star over the man often caricatured as a cranky, old white guy. The vote was about change from what was, rather than a vote in favor of any specific agenda. Since Obama provided few policy details during the campaign, he made quite a leap to interpret the election results as a mandate for the liberal agenda he has pursued as president, and now that is being reflected in opinion polls.
According to the latest Rasmussen poll, “43% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 38% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.” Of even greater significance, independent voters now favor the GOP 45%-18%. The same poll now even shows women preferring the GOP over Democrats.
Another Rasmussen poll shows respondents for the first time in over two years trusting Republicans more on the issue of health care.
Americans are not thrilled with the change they have gotten. The bailouts and stimulus plan were answered with protests which, in a matter of months, became the Tea Party movement. But the debate over health care is what has elicited the most intense public reaction. That is not surprising considering health care is such an incredibly personal issue.
The President and Democrats have gotten into trouble with the public because they believed voters gave them the congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008 because they wanted a more liberal government. If Democrats won elections by campaigning as liberals, explaining the specifics of their policy proposals, that might be true.
What is more often the case is that those who win elections campaign as conservatives or moderates. Unfortunately that does not mean they govern that way. Obama and the Democrats criticized George Bush for spending and running up deficits, but within months of taking office added trillions of dollars of deficit spending.
Just because voters were angry at corporate executives collecting big bonuses at the same time thousands of people were losing their jobs, did not mean they wanted the government deciding how much money those in private enterprise could make.
Just because voters wanted the American car industry to survive and thrive, did not mean they wanted the government to go into the car business -- deciding which executives should be hired and fired and guaranteeing car warranties.
Just because voters wanted change from what have been increasingly high health care costs, did not mean they wanted a plan that would give the government so much control over the industry.
Americans did not vote for a far left agenda, even though they voted for one of the most liberal presidential candidates in the history of the country. Those who interpreted the 2006 and 2008 elections as major shifts to the left, or any kind of mandate to govern from the far left, misjudged the results.
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