Independents backing away from Obama
ByJul 9 2009
Independent voters are taking a second look at President Barack Obama and they don’t like what they see.
Obama’s popularity among Americans now stands at 56 percent — his lowest since taking office — and some predict the President’s job approval rating could fall below 50 percent by Labor Day — a monumental slide for the young leader.
While White House spokesmen claim no concern about the falling poll numbers, Democratic politial stragegists privatley tell Capitol Hill Blue they are "extremely worried" that Obama’s extremes have worn thin with voters.
"An increasing number of votes now see Obama as just another politician who said one thing to win office and then set about on an entirely different agenda," says one strategist. "He’s setting the stage for a GOP comeback in the 2010 midterm elections. Even worse, he setting himself up to be a one-term President."
In a potentially alarming trend for the White House, independent voters are deserting President Barack Obama nationally and especially in key swing states, recent polls suggest.
Obama’s job approval rating hit a — still healthy — low of 56 percent in the Gallup Poll on Wednesday. And pollsters are debating whether Obama’s expansive and expensive policy proposals or the ground-level realities of a still-faltering economy are driving the falling numbers.
But a source of the shift appears to be independent voters, who seem to be responding to Republican complaints of excessive spending and government control.
“This is a huge sea change that is playing itself out in American politics,” said Democratic pollster Doug Schoen. “Independents who had become effectively operational Democrats in 2006 and 2008 are now up for grabs and are trending Republican.
While Obamacons claim Gallup’s numbers always trend to the right, Schoen is a well-respected Democratic pollsters and often spots trends in the early stages. He correctly identified voter shifts that led to big Democratic victories in 2006.
Increasingly, Americans wonder if they bought a pig in a poke by electing Obama. He campaigned as a moderate but his poicies reflect tradtional liberal Democratic thinking at a time when polls suggest voters are trending back to the right.
From today’s Rasmussen Reports:
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 32% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-seven percent (37%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of –5.
The number who strongly disapprove inched up another point to the highest level measured to date and the overall Approval Index is at the lowest level yet for Obama.
Bottom line: Obama is in trouble. And, to use his own words about the economy, it’s going to get worse.
My question is: “Who would America genuinely like as a leader and believe that person would actually lead us out of our social calamities and misery given the circumstances of the state of our nation?
IMHO:
Any person who would be egotistical enough to want (and possess) the president’s job…would be a failure in the eyes of at least 50% of the people. It really wouldn’t make a rats ass who is president.
I don’t have an ounce of love for any politician. That includes Obama.
My interest lies in the systemic problems with our government and election process.
My guts cringe at the hold in virtually every aspect of our social existence that Corp/Government has over a subtaintial number of our population. We have a voting population that’s large in numbers and they wake up every day wondering whether to scratch their ass or wind their watch. They are political numb-nuts. Politicans gravitate to these folks, promise them the world, then boldly ask them to hand over their credit card to pay for their promiseds and these numb-nuts, in some kind of stupper, hand over the credit card…then find out later that they can’t even make the minimum payment.
No, were not oppressed or suppress as say Iran or China…YET. To be naive to believe the same authoritarian type government is impossible in the U.S. is, in my humble opinion, is a fatal belief.
Whether Republicans or Democrats hold us hostage with their respective poliicies and ever growing government, the outcome is always the same in the end…they take and we give. They contine to grow in power while ours (We The People) equally deminish.
I agree, with a couple of qualifications:
• Our politicians are a wholly owned subsidiary of corporate America. They only have a reptilian self-interest. Politicians sold out cheap; they gave away the country for chump-change, and a future promise of a board of directors’ chair when they get thrown out of office.
• Obama raised the bar too high with the promise better government. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt but now he’s in the quicksand, so, he better deliver or go under.
Teddy Rooseveldt (a Republican!), slapped (metaphorically) J. P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller. His point was: no corporation is the equal or above the U.S interest. Teddy (for all your faults) where are you, now that we need you?
Interest alone is approaching a HALF TRILLION DOLLARS a year ($452 BILLION for this fiscal year with increased borrowing already underway). How long can this go on? We seem to have something like 300 million people in this country in mass denial. This WILL come crashing down. ALL current government and “financial industry” actions are geared toward delaying the crash in order to give themselves time to insulate their private individual fortunes as much as possible.
Now, we have nearly $12 trillion in the “official” national debt, growing trillion and possibly multi-trillion dollar yearly deficits, txpayer backed government guarantees of $9-$12 TRILLION, depending on your source, in additional guarantees, and more if “necessary” (do you think it won’t be deemed “necessary”?), and something like $25-$50 trillion dollars in projected Social Security and Medicare benefits. I could go on, but do you really want me to?
How can this not end in disaster? Can the financial gurus delay the crash much longer? How much longer?
Those who can afford to do so are leaving this country like rats deserting a sinking ship. I wish I could afford to be one of those rats.
Kent Shaw
PS – The trillion dollar a year military budget is of course sacred and untouchable. We simply MUST cut the “entitlement” social safety net. Pepole must learn to fend for themselves. Every man for himself. Women and Children LAST.
I see his actions as to the right of his campaign promises. He campaigned as a centrist, which is far left of most Democrats, but now his administration’s policies are mid-right, with the other Dems. He’s a liar like the rest, though it’s easier to believe he means well than it was to believe the same of Bush or any others on the far right.
–Jarrod
A nation who’s financial destiny is determined by people that were not voted into office is not a democracy. Nothing is being done about the Federal Reserve. Nothing is being done to stop the flow of U.S. dollars out of the country. A financial recovery would require the creation of jobs in every community through public works projects. Again, nothing is being done. The problems facing this nation require action, not rhetoric and photo ops.
Strat…just a little quote to think about.
“Western democratic capitalism never foresaw that in a society governed passively by free markets and free elections, organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy.” Matt Taibbi – “The Great American Bubble Machine”
“The Great American Bubble Machine” should be required reading by everyone who has two pennies to rub together.
It’s easy to be outraged, but more difficult to connect the dots.
I was surprised when my most knee-jerk, neo-con, librul-hating “friends” sent me this link. Unfortunately, they think this supports their “free-enterprise” theology (i.e. mythology). They can’t see the disconnect between plutocracy and free-market! If you even mention “regulation” you’ll be able to hear the howls in the next county.
The whole country (the world!) should rise up over this. Unfortunately, GS and every other predatory corporation, need only to have their minions cry “same sex marriage” or “activist judges” or “big government” or “family values” or any other red-herring issue to get the public distracted.
A few men in the Federal Reserve, who work in the best interests of the banks and corporations, determine the financial fate of the taxpayer. The taxpayer does not vote for these people and has no say in the matter. Taxation without representation should ring a bell with a lot of people. The bells should not only be ringing, sirens and flashing lights should be going off.
I believe people are starting to catch on to the Federal Reserve. When Ron Paul first came to my attention, he was painted as a loon. Now that people are beginning to understand the Federal Reserve is NOT a branch of the federal government and that these private bankers have landed us in a quagmire, the Federal Reserve is finally getting the spotlight.
Now that the American people are waking up, change can take place.
Don’t count on Obama. If he wasn’t a member of the club, he never would have been elected.
Damn!!! The man has been in office for 6 months and people act like we should be floating on cloud nine by now. How long did it take FDR to bring us out of the Great Depression? After eight years of lies by a crime family, it is going to take a long, long time to repair the damage and I am not sure that the damage done by Bush will ever be repaired.
Now! Until we rid ourselves of this idea that “capitalism” is heaven sent, we will never rid ourselves of “corporate America”, which is basically the root cause of our problem. The line of $hit that Reagan fed us, which the majority fell for, has finally caught up with us.
Obama or any person, who is attempting to resurrect this “dead” nation has a tremendous task to accomplish. Far too many voices of division within the walls of the house. The “family” is not going to reach any goal until “unity” becomes our priority.
Nogood, it took about 8 years for FDR’s policies to show a net positive results in a national impact. Various regions had varying results in terms of recovery.
But having said the above…we are a nations of “give it to me now” junkies. We’ve lost our voice to others and have become dependent…and we are in denial to that fact. But, the facts remain that our apathy and ignorance holds us hostage against a vile, corrupt government who once claimed to be our servants. It’s the other way around.
Despite Obama’s aspirations…he doesn’t have the polticial strength to overcome a corporate run government…and nation.
Yeah! I’ve been bitchin about this crap since the 60’s and people are finally starting to understand that the corporations are the problem.
The Federal Reserve, we’ll print as much as we want for ourselves and then we’ll print some more so we can loan it out and collect the interest.
Who are they borrowing the money from? Are they printing the money and giving it to the banks so the banks can loan it back to them and they can pay interest on their own money?