As President Obama jets across the Atlantic, the big headlines read :
Blame for downturn not fixed on Obama
Poll Finds Most Americans Approve of Obama's Economic Policies
Six in 10 Americans Approve Of Obama's Handling of Economic Crisis
Sure they do.That is until we take a closer look:
The percentage of Americans in the new poll who said the country is on the right track still stands at just 42 percent, but that is the highest percentage saying so in five years and marks a sharp turnabout from last fall, when as many as nine in 10 said the country was heading in the wrong direction. Fifty-seven percent now consider the nation as moving on the wrong track.
Now doesn't that seem a mite contradictory? Here we are in the age of The One, with hope n' change in the air like a miasma of rotting meat and almost two thirds of the country disapproves of the way things are going? With Obama in charge? Somehow, that doesn't seem to square with the headlines, does it? Let's go on:
At this early stage in his presidency, Obama continues to benefit from a broadly held perception that others should bear the bulk of responsibility for the severe economic problems that confront his administration. Americans see plenty of offenders, but only about a quarter blame the president and his team for an economy that's in the ditch.
Despite the increasing optimism about the future, the nation's overall mood remains gloomy, and doubts are rising about some of the administration's prescriptions for the economic woes. Independents are less solidly behind Obama than they have been, fewer Americans now express confidence that his economic programs will work, barely half of the country approves of how the president is dealing with the federal budget deficit, and the political climate is once again highly polarized.
Hmmm..once again, some contradictory statements in the same paragraphs. Only 25% of those polled think Obama's responsible for the current state of the economy,yet only half of the respondents approve of how he and his team are dealing with the economy?
I'd love to see how they worded the questions to come up with that. But let's continue...
Obama's overall approval rating among independents has dipped six points, to 61 percent, and fewer than half, 45 percent, said he is doing a good job of handling the deficit. His approval rating among Republicans has dropped seven points, to 30 percent.
OK, so apparently the numbers are skewed by party lines.Just for giggles let's take a look at the actual polling data...and see how the partisan split affected the poll itself, in terms of whom the respondents were:
Democrat: 36%
Republican: 25%
Independent: 33%
So even with an 11-point in built pro-Obama skew to the poll from Democrats, Obama hasn't convinced a majority that the country is on the right track or that his economic approach is working. Only 27% say the economy is improving, while 36% say it's getting worse...and that's with the lopsided partisan Democrat advantage in favor of Obama!
I'm surprised that after a couple of months and with all the energy spent on blaming Bush that the numbers are this bad. Can it be that the One's honeymoon is over, even with a chunk of his own party?
As for the WAPO/ABC minions that conducted this 'poll'..well, figures lie, and liars figure, don't they?
Good post
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