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by Don Azarias
October 8, 2010
According to a recent poll conducted by Associated Press-GfK, President Barack Obama’s approval rating is at its lowest point ever on his handling of the economy. The majority of American voters have the same opinion in describing the economic and financial outlook as poor.
If we are to consider political history as a guide, the voters almost always take their frustration out on the party in power – the Democratic Party at this time – in the November elections. And getting closer to the midterm elections, just 41 percent of those surveyed approve of the president’s job performance on the economy, down from 44 percent in April, while 56 percent disapprove. And 61 percent say the economy has gotten worse or stayed the same during the Obama administration. Still, three-quarters also say it’s unrealistic to expect noticeable economic improvements in the first 18 months of the president’s term. And Obama’s overall approval rating was unaffected; it remained at 49 percent, in part because most Americans still like him personally.
Americans’ pessimistic view of the economy grew even worse this summer as the nation’s unemployment rate stubbornly hovered near 10 percent. That’s been a drag on both Obama and Democrats, who control Congress. “The economy is on life support,” says Scott Bradley, 38, general manager of a carpet store in Columbia, Mo. Bradley says he voted for Obama in 2008 but he wouldn’t again. He blames Congress for the unemployment woes but says, “Obama’s policies” are making the economy worse.”
The unrelenting economic woes have Democrats on edge as they try to hang onto comfortable majorities in the House and Senate which could disappear after the midterm elections this fall. Republicans are trying to convince Americans that the GOP can create the jobs that Obama hasn’t delivered. Obama and his Democrats are pleading for the frustrated public to give them more time to prove that their economic fixes will work.
On a recent campaign stop for Democratic candidates in Seattle, Washington, Obama had this to say, “The truth is, it’s going to take a few years to fully dig ourselves out of this recession. It’s going to take time to bring back 8 million jobs. Anybody who tells you otherwise is just looking for your vote.”
With 60 percent of people saying the country’s headed in the wrong direction, Democrats are scrambling to convince American voters that the economy is on the way to recovery. And with 91 percent of Americans saying it’s a top problem, with unemployment close behind, the White House and congressional Democrats on Capitol Hill are hoping for a more noticeable economic improvement before November 2, 2010. But that may not happen anytime soon. A whopping 81 percent of people now call the economy poor or very poor, up from 72 percent in June, and just 12 percent say it has improved in the past month, compared with 19 percent in June.
With anti-incumbent signs coming from voters, Republicans should not really expect an easy victory come November. Most polls show that people have little trust in both, Democrats and Republicans, on handling the economy. But voters older than 64 and whites lean heavily toward the GOP.
But in a shift from earlier this summer, when Democrats had an advantage, Republicans now are about even with Democrats on the question of which party should win control of Congress. Among registered voters, 49 percent say they would vote for the Republican candidate in their congressional district———half say to express their opposition to Obama———while 45 percent say they’d cast their ballot for the Democrat.
Obama’s poll numbers are also not in comfortable level either. Just 34 percent now call him an above average or outstanding president, down from 42 percent in January. And 28 percent call him average, while 38 percent say he’s even worse. Marks on how people view him personally have fallen: 89 percent liked him personally in January, but now 82 percent do. Also, more people disapprove of his performance on the following issues than approve: the federal budget deficit, unemployment, health care, taxes and immigration.
In a recent visit to Ohio, Obama once again did what he has always done before and after his election as the country’s president and that’s to blame the Bush administration for the economic downturn. But as far as Ohioans are concerned that’s a tired argument and no longer carry much weight. In his speech the president said it will take a few years to dig out of such a deep recession, but with Election Day only a few weeks away many voters in Ohio are running out of patience. Only in Ohio? How about in the entire United States?
I also have other nagging questions: How long will Obama keep blaming the Bush Administration for the economic crisis? Will he ever take ownership of the sad state of the economy that has been happening under his watch?