Obama health care bounce gone – if there ever was one
President Obama’s weekly approval rating has dropped to 47 percent. Gallup notes the nuclear arms summit and the mixed messages concerning when the United States would, could or might use them may have cause discomfort, but I’m not sure that was such a big deal.
I’m not certain how significant Democrats will take these results, but dropping from 49 percent to 47 percent right after what was described as an initiative that could “make or break” his presidency – not my words – this is a big deal.
More from Gallup and the chart below.
In historical context, Obama’s job approval rating is slightly below where Bill Clinton was in April 1994, his second year in office, but roughly equal to Ronald Reagan’s approval rating in April 1982. Both of these presidents’ political parties lost substantial numbers of House seats in the midterm elections in their second years, a historical fact that does not bode well for the Democratic Party in this fall’s elections if Obama’s ratings stay at their current level or go lower.
Steve Gilbert at Sweetness & Light notes…
Funny, but Gallup doesn’t seem to consider Mr. Obama’s record low rating to be worthy of any commentary. And there doesn’t seem to be much shouting from the media’s rooftops, either.
And yet these very same people never seemed to tire of keeping us abreast of Mr. Bush’s approval ratings, when they were low.
Why is that?
2 Comments
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One wonders if his ego is big enough to throw a couple of Congressmen/women under the bus. If his ratings improve enough the media can spin it that he has a better rating than Georgie B.. Then he doesn't have to sacrifice any of the abyssmal policy.
He may get a bump up for reducing nuclear arms. Not to let a good deed like this go unpunished – He is asking for all nuke material to be gathered up. And yet he has Harry Reid closing down Yucca Mountain. Let's see Harry, US in danger of terroists and you woould rather have all nuke waste spread across the US for the taking instead of gathered into one place? The lack of consistancy and logic is tragic.
While this country is headed down the road to excessivly high debt we may live well. Any of us can live well with a credit card that has no limit. The real trouble comes when the bill is due. It would seem the current administration will attempt to defer the payments until the end of the its term. Lets hope the momentun on irresponsible spending will change with the midtern elections.