Gallup daily tracking poll is out-49%

[Politics_Guy25]

http:/www.gallup.com

Gallup Daily tracking from Nov. 17-19 shows President Barack Obama’s job approval slipping to 49% for the first time in his presidency. Among post-World War II presidents, only Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, and Ronald Reagan dropped below the symbolic majority approval level faster than Obama did.

Any thoughts on what can be done to reverse this? The state of the union address in January/February is always good for like a 10 point bounce plus the feel good atmosphere that Vancouver 2010 will evoke across North America. So, this isn't the final determinant for the midterms by any means.

We are at a low point right now, however.

Good job media turds! You have succeeded in your goal!

If I could unrecommend my own thread, I would.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. Obama has done it to himself.

His handling of HCR is the key. He has fucked it up royally, and now is trying to play catch-up. Being a bears fan, I can tell you that Illinoisans do NOT play catch up well.

I wonder when he will realize that a big part of his drop is due to his being TOO BLOODY CONSERVATIVE. More and more, I regret the selection of Rahm, although with the new and improved Obama, they seem to be a perfect fit.

[Baltoman991]

5. No, Obama has

not done this to himself. He's had help from Republicans, the media and his own party spreading bullshit about him. Accomplishments are never reported by the media whores and are ignored by those who do know about them.

The American people are going back to stupid IMO. His numbers are higher than 49% without a doubt. But hey, if not, then we the people will get exactly what we deserve in 2010 and 2012.

[CJCRANE]

12. And he doesn't get credit for

allowing everyone to have their say and letting the debate play out.

"Freedom is messy" as Rumsfeld once said (or more to the point "it would be much easier if this was a dictatorship" as Bush once said).

[spiritual_gunfighter]

13. He has done it to himself

The left is beginning to feel ignored by his policies, many on the left are unhappy so this is no big surprise.

[Baltoman991]

35. There was a

poll posted here last week that showed his approval ratings among Dems was 86% or so. That means 14% feel left out or aren't getting their rumps kissed. Either way if those 14% think they'd be better off with McCain or any other puke in office then I really have no use for them.

Obama was giving a big pile of steaming crap and he's done quite a bit for those who were ignored for a long time. So we can agree to disagree. I contend he's done nothing to himself.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

39. Typical response

Just because you are unhappy with some of Obama's policy decisions and some of the people running his economic team doesnt mean anyone thinks they would be better off with McCain. That is dishonest and I am sure you know it.

I still support Obama and if I had been polled I would be part of the 86%. Some of the shit I am seeing makes me angry and from the responses on DU makes a lot of us angry, but that doesnt mean you think we would be better off with McCain that is fucking dishonest bullshit, straight up.

[Baltoman991]

52. No no, yours

is the typical knee jerk reaction. Saying that all the negative polling is Obamas fault is pure BS. Period. End of story.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

71. Dishonesty is not becoming of you n/t

[Baltoman991]

74. Oh?

Care to tell me where I was dishonest? Did you not say the negative numbers were HIS fault? Yeah, I'm sure you did.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

78. This is what I said

"The left is beginning to feel ignored by his policies, many on the left are unhappy so this is no big surprise."

Those that hated Obama from the beginning (wingnuts, teabaggers, republicans) didnt approve of him from day one. Those numbers would remain unchanged, Obama is beginning to lose independents and some on the left, check the breakdown of the numbers. That was my point. And you can argue with that how?

[Baltoman991]

79. The support he

is losing comes from two groups:

1. Those who didn't listen to him during his 19 months on the campaign trail and

2. Those who don't have a clue how politics works.

Look, it's bad enough when you have Republicans in Congress doing everything they can to derail your agenda. But when so called Democrats in Congress join in then it really becomes a problem

He never claimed to be God, that was a label thrust upon him by the haters. Nor did he ever claim to be King, another label thrust upon him.

Was he to bold during the campaign? Probably. But then I think he wasn't expecting his own side in Congress to try and bring him down as well.

I'm not disagreeing with everything you're saying nor am I calling you a hater. I'm just stating things as I see them just as you're doing. One of the great things about our side is we don't always see eye to eye.

[vaberella]

56. "Ignored by his policies?" Ugh!

Majority of the people who voted are not of the "left"----the left is a small fraction of the people who voted for him----I'm tempted to go as far as to say we're even smaller than the teabag crew. Further more, the amount of massive and important legislative changes he's done is "IGNORED" by the left. If you count yourself in that group, then you've just proved my point. You ignore so much he's done in lieu of women's rights such as Liddy Ledbetter, or what Michelle is doing, with her husbands help in creating a mentoring program or even a program directed towards helping young girls. You're ignoring policy changes in regards to the financial sector---which he's implementing.


I'm bloody fed up with peopole like you in the "left" who do just like the republicans and forget everything he's done and claim he's done nothing----and yeah that's exactly what you implied by your statement. The media is working against him, the Repubs and their cohorts and people like you who might consider themselves of the "left" are helping them along. Good job. In essence the "left" don't feel ignored----they just suffer from Alzheimers.

Edited for spelling.

[rebel with a cause]

58. +1...

Right on!

[impik]

66. All the media did this week

Was to say how bad his trip to Asia was - Even if the ambassador to China said the opposite - They spent all their time on that stupid bow-crap and drooling all over Palin. Of course his numbers will go down. None of his accomplishments ever gets any publicity.

[stevietheman]

67. HCR passage will be a triumph that will lift him back to 55%+

I'm not worried.

[Hamlette]

8. HCR isn't the key

unemployment is

We've tried to get HCR for over 100 years. We are closer than ever. We're a tad bruised by it but it will happen and I will be thrilled.

The sky high unemployment rate is bringing down the numbers. Oh, and democrats who think he fucked up HCR when in fact he has brought us closer than Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Johnson, Truman, Kennedy, Clinton and all the others who tried their whole lives.

If you'd asked me next year if we'd pass HCR I would have said unfortunately no.

Good on us.

(Did you know that HCR was one of FDR's 3 goals during his presidency? Some historians say he wanted universal health care more than UI or SS and it was his number one goal. FDR was pretty popular and he couldn't do it but Obama did. You say he fucked it up. I say he got it done.)

[ChairmanAgnostic]

9. I mostly agree, especially on the unemployment thing.

But, this HCR is not real HCR.

[Hamlette]

47. and social security as originally passed only covered white ppl

(It didn't say it was only for whites but it exempted all the jobs minorities held).

Gradually we improved it.

[Red State Rebel]

11. I agree - until JOBS are a priority it's gonna be rough

There are way too many people out of work and that's going to work on people's opinions the longer they are unemployed. There needs to be a very visible effort to reverse the unemployment problem or it's going to get worse.

[Hamlette]

48. I work in the unemployment office it is bleak but there are signs it will get better come spring

maybe as early as February.

(Yesterday we hit a magic number in my unit, twice the number of appeals as our worst year ever, which was 2008. We will clearly be three times our average by years end. That's not number of claims filed as my unit is the last level appeal. People are hurting, employers as well as employees, and more are appealing.)

[TomCADem]

24. Agree. Look at Reagan. He Fell Under 50% When Unemployment Was Only 8 Percent Or So...

Of course, with Reagan, unemployment grew to over 10 percent in 1982 and most of 1983, thus Reagan's approval ratings fell to 35 percent:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/TomCADem/7

[amandabeech]

60. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.

He at least must show that he is seriously looking for ways to get people employed now.

Yes, the stimulus will eventually play out and it will result in verifiable results.

It may be too late, though.



So much money has been plowed into the financial system without any positive results that most people can see, that he is going to have to really move on jobs to get the bad taste out of people's mouths.

Yes, I know that TARP passed on Bush's watch, but Obama supported it. Tim Geithner was in the middle of it and he looks really bad this week with the reports on his lack of effort in dealing toughly with AIG. Bernanke was up to his eyeballs in the whole POS, and Obama reappointed him.

Getting back folks who are worried about employment will require a real change of direction and real results.

This "jobs summit" will be laughed at if it does not result in nearly immediate action.

Politically, he needs to stop the hemorrhage of jobs before 2010. If it is not done by 2012, your choice of higher power will really need to help us Dems.

[mcablue]

36. Much of it has been done by the misleading media behavior

Some of it has been done by Obama, but not all. It's not fair to blame Obama or any Democrat for his/her approval without taking into consideration the biased behavior of the corporate media.

[krawhitham]

59. No people like you who do not understand the process is the problem

[ChairmanAgnostic]

63. no people who cant understand punctuation are the problem yes

[Peacetrain]

93. Polls go up, poll go down.

[treestar]

2. "only" those three?

LOL. And why is Nov. suddenly a major measure? You could take that data for every single month in a Presidency.

Two of them got reelected in landslides.

[Politics_Guy25]

3. The world war II quote was theirs not mine

But yeah I agree.

[WCGreen]

4. Anxiety is rife...

People are frightened. The longer this health care battle rages on, the more anxious people will become.

Once the bill is passed, you will see that Mr. Obama's popularity will rise.

[HopeOverFear]

6. re: Anxiety is rife...

Once the bill is passed, you will see that Mr. Obama's popularity will rise.

And that is exactly why the health lobby and Republicans want to stop it.

[Cant trust em]

7. I agree. People just want to see results.

When HCR gets passed, he'll be fine.

[FBaggins]

10. Has Gallup shifted to robo-calls?

I can't imagine why they're doing daily polling at this point.

[ind_thinker2]

14. people hoped to see more spine from obama

Until now he has practiced back door diplomacy in all his efforts.

Take it with:
1. HCR, its a mess now, though we reach much way ahead un last decades
2. Iran, its again a mess, now we are thinking sanctions
3. Cuba, no response
4. North Korea, no response
5. Middle east relations after Cairo speeh, Nothing.
6. Terrorism, trying them in NY, people shrugged. Closing the prison did not happen, who knows when, He bowed in front of Saudi king so that they can take 100 odd prisoners, did that happen? No. They are asking more.
7. Stimulus, recovery.gov is a mess, it may have helped economy but did not come down to main street

Until now domestic and foreign relations both have taken beating, I guess for him to succeed he needs wins in some of above. One will not do.

World then gives him NOBEL peace prize, that he had difficulty in claiming. Americans hushed him.

[CJCRANE]

15. But I'm left wondering

who exactly could have fixed all of those things within a few months?

Which one person in America or even Planet Earth could have fixed everything?

[ind_thinker2]

27. people did not expect everything, but some positive results

We voted him for change, but as he said its not easy.

I am willing to wait for another 3 years.

[LittleBlue]

31. Fixed? Tell the people who are losing their jobs that the problem is "fixed"

See what they think.

[CJCRANE]

40. It was a hypothetical question.

I never claimed that anything was fixed. I agree that jobs should be a priority.

[high density]

25. The Senate is voting on HCR tomorrow

So that seems far from a mess. In fact much of your list is bogus.

[ind_thinker2]

33. We cannot live in denial

President have had many difficulties in last few months, Repubs are on top of him. Right wing attack machine has pulverized him.

I think W.H. needs a different strategy, Rahm is too conservative. They need two three attack dogs to counter every punch.

[high density]

55. We cannot live with absurd expectations

The congress is what it is. Obama can only sign the laws that are put on his desk.

[ind_thinker2]

57. expectations are not absurd, President is expected to work congress his way

Pres Obama has long way to go in this. Maybe that includes support from Nation as well. We know Right wing has come out stong, but many times he seems to be too happy taking whatever crap is thrown at him. Being African american, no white lawmakers in repubs are scared of him, infact they will get more votes if they defy him. Remember "you lie" guy.

[amandabeech]

62. Senate voting on whether to allow HCR to get to the floor.

I agree that Reid wouldn't let that happen unless he thought that he had a good chance of passing something in the end, but it is not a given.

Then, we must wait for the conference committee bill and for votes on that.

There is still time for a slip-up, and I'm not counting eggs yet.

[ind_thinker2]

65. yes that is possible, remember copenhagen, we thought obama will not go if he did not have it in bag

[amandabeech]

80. Thanks for bringing that up. It may be an analogous situation. n/t

[slackmaster]

16. I really hope President Obama doesn't allow popularity poll numbers to dictate his policies

:nuke:

[Bleacher Creature]

17. Meaningless.

People are hurting now. If the economy improves, so will these numbers.

Also, he is tracking just about the same as Reagan -- and we all know how much trouble Reagan had in 1984. . . Also, remember that Reagan received a huge amount of sympathy (and a ratings bounce) early in his term after being shot, and he still dropped below 50 percent in November 1981.

Finally, "only" Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, and Ronald Reagan? We've only had 12 post-WWI Presidents. Two of them succeeded Presidents who died in office (Truman and LBJ) and two of them presided over an extremely long period of economic expansion (Eisenhower and JFK). Bottom line, this all means nothing.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

29. It's an odd comparison.

You've accounted for four. GWB had a massive 9/11 Boost. That leaves Nixon, Carter and GHWB...erm...the standard bearers of a successful presidency?

[Nyquil Man]

90. You can't really compare them

because their situations are so dissimilar, but Obama does seem to be tracking Reagan.

[Vicar In A Tutu]

77. Indeed. And although not re-elected, I dare say Ford...

...did pretty well to make the '76 election as close as it was given the stench of Nixon.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

18. Wow, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan? Two horribly unpopular presidents.

What can we do to get his numbers to look more like Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush's at this point in their presidencies?

[GrantDem]

89. Good observation...

[LittleBlue]

19. Easy to understand. It's his own fault.

Promised to get us out of Gitmo-- fail.
Continues, even escalates, Bush failed policies on quagmire Afghanistan-- fail.
No jobs recovery. It isn't completely his fault, although Geithner/Summers seems to have focused more on banks than people-- fail.
Quixotic Iran obsession, just like Shrub. No progress on Middle East peace-- fail.


He has managed to simultaneously offend substantial numbers of independents and progressives in just 10 months. I cannot believe how disastrously he has turned the euphoria over his election into buyer's remorse among the progressive community. I hardly ever come on here any more because it makes me sick. Keep that up Mr. President, and you can successfully limit your presidency to one term.

[Baltoman991]

37. You can't be serious.

He failed to close Gitmo? No, Congress failed him, including his own side.

Oh, and did you miss the 19 months on the campaign trail? Obviously you did when you bring up Afghanistan. He'd not doing anything differently then he said he would do.

And where has he failed on Iran? It's the complete opposite. He's actually got other countries working with the United States now to put pressure on Iran to straighten up.

So while you keep your head buried, you can continue to miss the world passing you by.

[LittleBlue]

86. Bogus. He promised to close it, and he didn't.

Don't tell me he didn't understand congressional procedure at the time of the promise, he worked in the Senate after all.

He couldn't get it done, and he's even arguing against releasing people against whom there is no evidence.

[Baltoman991]

92. No, you're the

bogus one. If folks who did nothing but slammed him for all the worlds ills would get a clue, they'd see where the fault lies. You want him to become a Dictator? A King perhaps? Sorry, you've got the wrong person in mind for that. Obama is getting fucked over by his own party and thats pretty damn sad.

[CJCRANE]

49. I don't know how you can declare failure on things that are still in progress...

:shrug:

Seems a tad premature.

And as per another one of my posts I'm wondering who in the world could fix the Middle East in 10 months? This is a problem with roots 2000 years old in religious terms and 60 years old in political terms so I'd be interested to be told one person who could fix it overnight.

[impik]

69. What BS. Can you not just repeat

Huffington Post talking points?

[LittleBlue]

87. Instead of insulting me, you and Obama should be worried about getting me to vote

for him in 2012. How to draw me back to donating money and time again.

Instead, you're just dismissing those like me, even though we were the keys to his victory. It was us, the energized base of volunteers and donors, that helped him to victory. Well, you and he can find out on election day how that's going to work out. It won't be pretty.

[smalll]

20. I wouldn't be too worried about this yet.

Obama's Gallup daily tracking has been amazingly consistent over the past three months -- since early August, he has bounced around between 50 and 54 percent approval. The fact that it fell away from the high approval at the start of his presidency is completely understandable -- even though he won the election handily, this is still a relatively closely divided nation, red-versus-blue-wise. One day at 49% means little or nothing.

At the same time, I can think of two things that have caused his approval rating to fall over the past week -- Bow-Gate II, and the decision to try KSM in civilian court. For Obama's sake, hopefully most of it came from Bow-Gate II (and people do know about it -- I caught the start of the Leno show yesterday, and he told a Bow-Gate joke, showing both pics (with the Emperor and the Saudi King.)) Bow-Gate is a temporary thing. But the KSM decision, in my opinion, will continue to be a problem for years now. Latest thing I heard -- yesterday, Senator Schumer asked for Federal funding to NY because, allegedly, NY will have to spend an extra 75 million dollars a year as this trial begins and drags on -- and it will take more than a year, at least!

Also, here's a working link: http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/gallup-daily-obama-job-approval.aspx

[TomCADem]

21. So, Ronald Reagan Beat Him To Sub-50 Percent? ROFL!

Here is a post I wrote a while back about Saint Ronald Reagan's poll numbers.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/TomCADem/7

[high density]

22. "only" ... Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan

What can be done to reverse it? Get the economy going for the common man, i.e. create jobs.

[RepublicanElephant]

23. gallup republican poll.

where's nate silver?

oh, here he is....


http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

overall approval over 50%

[SemiCharmedQuark]

26. Gallup is actually quite consistent. I'm not surprised.

Considering the economic data, I'm actually a little surprised it's not worse.

[TomCADem]

Exactly. Reagan Went Under 50% When Unemployment Was "Only" Eight Percent In November

The issue with Reagan was that unemployment had been steady at about 7 percent through his first year before shooting up after he got his tax cut bill passed. Unemployment then began to shoot up to 10 percent in August of 1982. By 1983, unemployment was still about 10 percent, and Reagan's approval rating was about 35 percent.

With President Obama, unemployment was increasing to eight percent in January! and continued to rise. So, Reagan took a steady situation, and worsened it.

[mcablue]

38. Correctoin: Overall approval is exactly at 50%

Per Nate.

[eleny]

28. There are some Republican messes that can't be fixed

Some people are grown up babies and want everything right now. At least real babies have a good reason.

[Unvanguard]

30. It's the economy. We get better job numbers in the next year, or we're screwed. n/t

[DU GrovelBot]

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[GTAsoldier]

34. After noticing this....

.....I decided to look this up and share it with you guys.

http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/frontpageFeaturedArticle/article_6562.shtml

Euphoria dissipates after the historic election of President Barack Obama



A year ago, Americans cried, waved flags and embraced as a brilliant campaign made Barack Obama the 44th president of the United States and the first Black man to win the White House.
What a difference a year makes: The president is less popular, seems assaulted from nearly every side and still faces the problems of an ailing economy, a “jobless” recovery and two wars, with his partner in Afghanistan back in office because of a tainted election and a runner-up who refuses to stand for a political rerun.

It was November 4, 2008, when 66 million voters chose Mr. Obama, whose success rose out of the ashes of the some say failed, definitely unpopular presidency of George W. Bush.

The Obama message of change resonated around the world and with American voters. Now many question whether the president has moved too fast too soon or whether he has not moved fast enough. Mr. Obama's political ascension was meteoric, going from Illinois state senator, to a junior U.S. senator and president of the United States. The Obama balancing act—standing as president of all the people—and not incurring the anger of Whites suspicious of his loyalties has been difficult.

“He has faced a whole lot of serious problems, I think he's trying to address them, but he seems to always want to keep an arms distance from the issues important to us or anything that remotely comes close to being Black,” said longtime journalist and author George Curry.

“While his election should be celebrated, we cannot abandon our role of holding whoever sits in that office accountable. Basically Blacks remained silent, hoping that Obama would get around to us, and that's not the way politics work,” he argued.

“People react to voices, and just as he get nudges from women and gay groups and everybody else, he needs a kick in the butt from the African American community, because our needs must be addressed as well,” said Mr. Curry.

Other observers contend if Obama was White, there would've been a different response to him from Blacks, such as demanding more action on issues like employment, youth violence and bailout packages for disenfranchised communities, similar to bailouts for Wall Street.

“It was unprecedented and Black folks, baby boomers and older, did not expect to see a Black person elected to the presidency in our life time,” said Bill Fletcher, Jr., executive editor of the online Black Commentator publication, and past president of TransAfrica Forum. “It was an amazing moment, and for me as well as others of African American descent, we were ecstatic and to varying degrees cautious.”

Foreign policy challenges for president

Mr. Obama's foreign policy is not faring well. Amid calls for Mr. Obama to change strategy and get out of Afghanistan, recent reports charged wide corruption with allegations Ahmed Wali Karzai—the brother of President Hamid Karzai—peddled narcotics and is on the CIA payroll.

America has a long history of murky relationships in Afghanistan, going back to the Soviet invasion in 1979. The C.I.A, used and backed proxy groups to do the U.S. bidding in Afghanistan, namely the Mujahedeen and gave billions of American taxpayer dollars to the struggle to eradicate Soviet occupation of the country. It was in those years that Osama Bin Laden received U.S. training and financial backing.

Mr. Karzai retained power Nov. 1 when his man opponent Dr. Abdullah Abdullah declined to participate in a run off election, saying the Karzai government had not done enough to fix problems and root out fraud. By default Mr. Karzai retains his office and Mr. Obama called Nov. 2 for a new day in Afghan politics.

Internationally President Obama's approval ratings are still relatively high. Polls show people are still excited about him, hoping he represents a departure from U.S. arrogance toward the rest of the world. But the question is what about policy breaks from the past?

“We have seen no significant difference in policy between the two wars,” declared Mr. Curry, comparing the Obama and Bush administrations on Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Once you get beyond symbolism, we're still engaged in two bloody wars, we have not gotten out and even some conservatives like George Will are questioning whether we should be in Afghanistan.”



According to recent Gallup polls, there was a 9 point decline in President Obama's quarterly approval rating, from 62 to 53 percent between July and October 2009. The drop is the largest for any U.S. president since tracking these numbers began, according to the polling service.
In January 2009—Mr. Obama's official start date—no time was wasted addressing the chaos of his predecessor, tackling economic problems; defining his healthcare reform act; planning his war strategy for Afghanistan and Iraq and plotting his course for foreign relations that included two major speeches in Egypt and Ghana, an audience with Pope Benedict XVI and several summits in Europe, the Caribbean and South America.

Mr. Obama's popularity dip partly reflects a growing sense of despair and lack of confidence that segued from “euphoric expectations” of him from the beginning, according to Paul Street, an independent analyst and author of “Barack Obama and the Future of American Politics.”

“A lot of liberal and progressive Whites had enormous expectations of Obama, frankly in part because he was African American, and that was such a dramatic departure in terms of symbolic representation of the presidency,” Mr. Street told The Final Call.

Bill Fletcher concurs that the level of expectation was high, adding that even many supporters did not really know Barack Obama.

“Many people who voted for Obama did not look carefully at whom he was and what he stood for and as a result had exaggerated expectation,” Mr. Fletcher said. “Many people voted for Barack Husain Obama, many others voted for Barack ‘Merlin the Magician' Obama, and they expected within 72 hrs of the inauguration that he was going to make miracles. This becomes a real problem because there was no sense of the gravity of the problems that we are in,” Mr. Fletcher said.

Mr. Street observed further that the same set of expectations wouldn't have been realistic for Democrats Hilary Clinton, and John Edwards, or former Presidents Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton.

Any president that came in confronting what President Obama was facing, which was an absolute “economic meltdown of epic proportions,” probably the biggest fall since the Great Depression would have experienced the same swing in approval ratings, he argued.

Initial elation is one thing but unemployment numbers are approaching 10 percent and “thousands are losing their health insurance and homes each day,” said Mr. Street, “while an increasing number of U.S. soldiers are dying needlessly in Afghanistan.”

The danger of ‘corporate-managed' democracy?

Mr. Street described the political climate that ushered President Obama into power as “corporate-managed democracy,” where every four years the American people are in search of a “savior” or at least a more “effective manager” who can raise wages, curb militarism, provide affordable health care, fix the environmental crisis, and generally make life more livable.

In the presidential election season, the “American voters put their political hats on, they hope, and then go back to sleep,” Mr. Street said.

Giving an analysis, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, of the Nation of Islam, warned about people lulled into a false sense that choosing one man fixes all problems. “Babies sometimes need the breast or the bottle and if the breast or the bottle is not present, a pacifier will do. Usually the baby will fall asleep,” said Minister Farrakhan during his Oct. 18 Holy Day of Atonement address in Memphis.

“This is a very dangerous time and we have to be very careful that the masses of the people are not being pacified by the fact that the first Black president sits in the White House. This can pacify you and lull you to sleep in a dangerous time, making you to think that we live in a post-racial America when the opposite is true,” Minister Farrakhan warned.

As Black people and others responded with jubilation by the election last year, segments of White America responded with desolation to the decision.

Since the election, there has been a 400 percent increase in death threats against President Obama in less than one year, said Congressional Research Service Report. Experts have also cited a rise in White homegrown hate groups, and a new wave of anti-government fervor.

Media reports noted that in the months following November 2008, there was a spike in firearms sales, and recently the increase of right wing Tea Parties, patterned after the Boston Tea Party of 1773, that led to independence from England and the establishment of the U.S.A., have made Mr. Obama their favorite target.

Blacks are the only group whose poll numbers in support of President Obama remains a constant 90 percent, but the illusion of a “post racial America” seems to be quickly fading, if it hasn't disappeared altogether already.

Mr. Fletcher agrees that, “Obama will do what he is pressured to do,” adding that, “people who are waiting for something magical to happen are making a very big mistake.”

“The right wing wants to not only undermine his presidency, but some of them want to literally overthrow him,” said Mr. Fletcher.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thoughts anyone?

[CJCRANE]

45. Interesting article. You should only post four paragraphs due to copyright.

There's still time to edit your post.

[GTAsoldier]

81. Too late

I'm too late in editing my (first) post. >.< Had to go out today.

I hope I don't get severely penalized for this little mistake.

[CJCRANE]

83. Don't worry about it. I'll put in a good word for you.

;)

But seriously, it'll be OK, just bear it in mind for next time.

[GTAsoldier]

88. thanks

[natrat]

41. he might see the 20s if some economic curcumstances come to pass

i hate the dude and his administration,,,and yes i know the pugs would and will be worse

[MadBadger]

42. Did He kick Your Dog or something?

I dont know how any DUer can straight up say they HATE Obama.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

43. Yeah hate is a bit strong

I am not entirely happy with some things but hate??? That is pretty stupid.

[impik]

70. You hate him?

Nice.

[d_b]

44. time for another speech

[firedupdem]

46. Polls are all about who answers the phone...I just quit working part

time for gallup and there were days when the only people who would answer the poll were seniors and teabaggers. On medicare or job less with high school educations. I knew before I even got to the question about the President, what their answers would be. One thing I learned, is ANSWER THE DAMN POLL! People hang up and don't want to be bothered and then we wonder why the numbers look like this.

[WI_DEM]

50. So Clinton and Reagan two presidents who won re-election in landslides were under 50%

I wouldn't worry too much about what Obama's approval rating is today. What counts is where he is in three years.

[AlinPA]

51. It doesn't help that the congress is controlled by republicans. nt

[Hawaii Hiker]

53. I like to know Bush's approval right before election 2004

Because I'm still baffled as to how that S.O.B. won re-election even after we all knew he lied about Iraq...

I guess what I'm trying to say is if people gave Bush two terms, Obama HAS to be a two term president...

As far as President Obama's current approval, if he passes health care, it will go up significantly IMO....

[backscatter712]

54. Now we know what's next on the to-do list after health care.

To be honest, I'm not ultra-worried about the polls yet.

But Obama and Congress need to be doing something about unemployment, and they need to do it quickly.

Fortunately, if I read the news correctly, a jobs bill is in the works - investments in infrastructure & such designed explicitly to put people to work.

And the beautiful thing is that the jobs bill will be a lot easier to shove through Congress than health care reform - all we have to do is keep saying the words "CREATE JOBS!" over and over, and the Rethugs will be put in the awkward position of either supporting "socialist big govmit" or facing the populist mobs with tar and feathers they spent the past few months riling up...

[rocktivity]

61. Didn't think I'd have to drag this out until 2012

"GET THE BEYOND ME, POLLS! UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!!!"


Here are some other recent polls:
WapoABC 56%
CNN 55%
CBS 53%
Pew 51%
WSJ 51%

But having said that, Obama's problem is simple: His "no drama" approach may sit well with his base, but it's costing him his fringe because because he doesn't appear to be standing up for anything he says he believes in. It's the votes of the independents, moderates and the ex-Bushies that got him over, not ours. They turn on the TV news, all all they see are episodes of "As The Republicans Turn." For instance, every time Boehner opens his trap, Pelosi or Reid should be right there refuting him (and giving the media hell if they're not getting equal coverage). And don't we have DNC chairman--where is he while Michael Steele is running off at mouth? THAT'S what's missing. Obama's fringe needs to see more of the Dems fighting (here's to ya, Grayson/Kuchinich/Weiner), and they need to see him fighting back.


rocktivity

[ind_thinker2]

68. I could see it comming yesterday when gallup oppose rose to 44

First Rass pushed it to 46, then Dem poll PPP came with 49. All other polls Faux etc were mid 40's (Food for Beck and Hannity)

Gallup was waiting to see how others will react, and pushed the trigger.

[impik]

64. YAY! DU Party!

Just keep abandon this man after 10 months of the most difficult presidency in decades. The media firmly against him, the crazy right-wing hate machine in full force - But the purists from the left, the know-it-all "progressives" - They had enough. It's been 10 months already. Now it's time to throw him under the bus. Good for you, whiners. Palin will be so much better.

[DCBob]

72. Polls are meaningless at this point. Only elections count.

There are over 3 years till the next GE. Besides 49% is not bad. That still wins with a 3% or more "other" vote. Yes we can!

[Kitsune]

73. I am not surprised at all. When you sell out your base and the other side loathes you,

your ratings are going to tank. I'd like to think he'll wake the fuck up, but given his track record I think there's little hope of that.

[Baltoman991]

75. Bullshit!!!

He's been sold out by his own damn party.

I'm sick to death of the "sold out his base" crowd. All they're doing is pushing the FAUX news bullshit.

[Cha]

84. Nope, he didn't sell me out nor my family and friends.

[Robbins]

76. My advice

Don't get stress out over this.Gallup goes up and down like crazy.Yes first time below 50.But after Q went under 50 It was bound to happen with Gallup.Now when Health care reform passes It will go up.Of
course If he were to fire his economic team,announce drawbacks In Afghanstain,or Introduce bill to
overturn don't ask Don't tell this would help get his numbers up.

[Imajika]

85. Errr...

..I mean, I agree that these polls go up and down and it doesn't matter too much right yet, but some of your suggestions to improve his numbers probably wouldn't get the results you think.

"Of course If he were to fire his economic team,announce drawbacks In Afghanistan,or Introduce bill to overturn don't ask Don't tell this would help get his numbers up."

I happen to agree with dumping "Don't ask, Don't tell", and so does probably everyone else here on DU, but what possible evidence do you see in looking at the views of the US public that this would in any way boost Obama's ratings? Would it solidify his base into more of a "strongly approve" category? Yes, possibly. Would it result in his overall polls going up? Probably just the opposite. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the American public is not exactly progressive in it's thinking on LBGT issues yet. Gay marriage has been put to the public 31 times so far, it has lost 31 times - even in CA and Maine.

If he really draws down in Afghanistan, he would be going against his commanders (including ones he specifically appointed). Most would resign. The media would have a field day. The public has soured on the war in Afghanistan, and I and probably most here think hanging around in that nation trying to build a democracy is a fools errand, but that would be very controversial. The public may initially approve, but the backlash could really hurt him.

Firing his economic team is pretty dicey too. Populist anger might be appeased at first, but the firestorm that would result in a team the business community thinks is anti-business could be incredibly damaging to him and might shake the confidence the markets are beginning to have in the US economy. That could unleash a real unintended consequences.

I don't think there is any easy way for Obama to boost his poll numbers. He was dealt a crap hand, and it is going to be tough to navigate the next couple years. I've little doubt he will win another term in 12', but the Democratic party will probably suffer some significant losses in 2010 and maybe even 2012 at the legislative level.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

82. Oh Noez!!!!!! We're DOOOOOOOMED!!!!!!!!!

*I really wish somebody would come up with a hysterical or "hair on fire" emoticon because that's how insane this thread is. I guess we better just give up and pray that the Republicans show us mercy when they retake Congress next year and the WH in 2012. Obama MUST be a failure now that he is at 49%! He brought his downfall on himself!!!! It's over!!!!

:sarcasm:


Oh, whatever :eyes: This place just goes completely bonkers every now and then.

[gulliver]

91. Republicans and bozos dropping like flies

Republicans are obviously abandoning Obama. Then bozos (independents and some dems) too. The words of a fool signify nothing, of course. The words of millions of fools signify a million times that.