(NBC News).For much of his first year in office, President Barack Obama has largely defied political gravity in the midst of skyrocketing unemployment, an ambitious legislative agenda and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His approval rating remained above 50 percent, a plurality viewed his party positively, and even the number believing the country was on the right track — despite the bad news — temporarily spiked during his first few months on the job.
But now nearing the end of his first year in office, the economy, the wars and the legislative skirmishes finally have taken a toll on the president and his party, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
For the first time, Obama’s overall job approval rating has fallen below 50 percent (to 47 percent). In addition, for the first time since Sept. 2007, a plurality (45 percent) sees the Democratic Party in a negative light. And the percentage believing the country is on the wrong track (55 percent) is at its highest level in the Obama presidency.
“This survey underscores what I consider a dramatic and unmistakable change in the political landscape,” said Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted the survey with GOP pollster Bill McInturff. “For Democrats, the red flags are flying at full mast.”
“The sagging economy is beginning to drag him down,” McInturff added. “This is increasingly becoming President Obama’s economy.”
Underlining the entire poll is a deep dissatisfaction with the current state of the country. Only 33 percent believe the nation is headed in the right direction — an eight-point drop since Obama took office.
What’s more, six in 10 say the country is in a state of decline, and a whopping two-thirds say they’re not confident that life for their children’s generation will be better than it was for them.
“All of this says that optimism has crashed through the floor board,” Hart observed.
In addition to Obama’s job approval rating at 47 percent, fewer than four in 10 say they are confident he has the right set of goals and policies, which is down 15 points since his election.
And only one-third have confidence the president has the right goals and priorities to improve the economy, down 13 points since June.
What’s more, while Obama holds an overall 50 percent to 37 percent positive/negative rating in the poll, the number with a “very positive” view of him dropped from 36 percent in October to 29 percent this month.
His approval rating remained above 50 percent, a plurality viewed his party positively, and even the number believing the country was on the right track — despite the bad news — temporarily spiked during his first few months on the job.
But now nearing the end of his first year in office, the economy, the wars and the legislative skirmishes finally have taken a toll on the president and his party, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
For the first time, Obama’s overall job approval rating has fallen below 50 percent (to 47 percent). In addition, for the first time since Sept. 2007, a plurality (45 percent) sees the Democratic Party in a negative light. And the percentage believing the country is on the wrong track (55 percent) is at its highest level in the Obama presidency.
“This survey underscores what I consider a dramatic and unmistakable change in the political landscape,” said Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted the survey with GOP pollster Bill McInturff. “For Democrats, the red flags are flying at full mast.”
“The sagging economy is beginning to drag him down,” McInturff added. “This is increasingly becoming President Obama’s economy.”
Underlining the entire poll is a deep dissatisfaction with the current state of the country. Only 33 percent believe the nation is headed in the right direction — an eight-point drop since Obama took office.
What’s more, six in 10 say the country is in a state of decline, and a whopping two-thirds say they’re not confident that life for their children’s generation will be better than it was for them.
“All of this says that optimism has crashed through the floor board,” Hart observed.
In addition to Obama’s job approval rating at 47 percent, fewer than four in 10 say they are confident he has the right set of goals and policies, which is down 15 points since his election.
And only one-third have confidence the president has the right goals and priorities to improve the economy, down 13 points since June.
What’s more, while Obama holds an overall 50 percent to 37 percent positive/negative rating in the poll, the number with a “very positive” view of him dropped from 36 percent in October to 29 percent this month.
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