Approval numbers show most Americans don't want Obama's change
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 8:19AM Commentary by Chris Carter
A common theme has resonated from pollsters in 2009: 'Obama's approval ratings hit new low.' Gallup's latest poll puts President Obama's approval at 47%, the lowest-ever for a U.S. president in his first year in office.
Now that President Barack Obama's first year in office is almost over, a glance at other presidents' approval ratings confirms that Obama's 47% approval rating marks the lowest for a president in his first year.
A look at past presidents shows that he could also set the lowest average approval rating. According to Gallup , Obama's first-year average approval is 50%. Only Ronald Reagan and Harry Truman (both at 49%) were listed as having a lower approval rating than Obama. Highest on the list? George W. Bush's average was highest, at 86 percent in 2001.
The White House's reaction? Attack the pollsters.
Instead of re-evaluating their unpopular policies, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs likened the latest results to a “six-year-old with a crayon...I don't pay a lot of attention to the meaninglessness of it.”
What has Obama accomplished or what does he have in store for America that could actually raise his numbers? Only 44% of Americans support Congress' healthcare legislation that is a priority for the administration. Even fewer (40%) approve of Obama's handling in particular of health care policy.
Only 26% of Americans feel that Obama actually deserves the Nobel Prize, which the committee admitted was awarded on intentions, not actions.
Gallup suggests that a slight uptick in Obama's numbers last week accounted for the unveiling of his long-awaited Afghanistan strategy at West Point. But some recent polling data showed that 55% of Americans disapprove of Obama's strategy in Afghanistan.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commanding U.S. general in Afghanistan, declared that more than 40,000 additional troops are needed in Afghanistan in order to secure victory. Several months – and more than 100 fallen U.S. troops – later, Obama decided to send only 30,000 over the course of the next year, accompanied by a withdrawal timeline, which perhaps raised Obama's approval numbers in areas like Waziristan, the area of Pakistan where some believe OBL hid.
Most Americans approve of the troop surge and of Obama's withdrawal timeline. But will Americans approve of the possibilities of Afghanistan being vulnerable to the Taliban and al Qaeda beginning in July, 2011?
A CBS News poll found that only 40% of Americans supported bringing alleged Guantanamo terrorists to the U.S. for trials, like the upcoming trial of self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
And while Americans continue to tighten their belts, the White House and Congress are spending tax dollars like Monopoly money. Some experts estimate the 600,000 jobs that the Obama administration claims to have created or saved cost a whopping $246,436 per job. The 1,990 page Obamacare legislation introduced by the House at the end of October costs roughly $2.24 million per word.
Obviously American voters didn’t anticipate the change they’re getting.
Reader Comments (2)
Sources say that McChrystal's "low-risk" option included as many as 80,000 troops. When the CG requests 80k troops and the president only sends 30k, does our government even want us to defeat the Taliban?
It's my personal opinion the current government is a barrier to defeating al Qaeda.