'Obama's approval sinks to new low...'

[Drunken Irishman]

See that a lot. Always check the ratings. Guess what? They're almost a point or two worse than his last record low ... which generally happened at the end 2011. Right before an election year. We know how that turned out.

[hrmjustin]

1. Peaks and valleys. It will go back up.

[Drunken Irishman]

2. Agreed.

[Oakenshield]

3. When Congress has a higher approval rating than the President.

THAT will be newsworthy. Till then, I have no fucks to give if his approval takes a dip.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

11. Until REPUBLICANS have a higher approval rating than President Obama

THAT will be really newsworthy. Till then, I'm not much concerned.

What I don't understand is that President Obama is supposed to be so unpopular now, yet he hasn't really done anything that should be severely hampering his popularity, at least nothing that I can think of that's anything worse than what (P)resident George W. Bush did. Yeah, the healthcare rollout isn't really going that great b I know that the outrage du jour of the moment is the whole "you can keep your plans" pledge that some people are upset about (as well as other lies and distortions about the ACA in general) but is that affecting large numbers of people? The media, of course, seems obsessed with sensationalizing just about every negative story about ACA but minimizing just about every positive story about people benefiting from the ACA but I believe that that is a more transitory thing that will eventually get smoothed out over time.
The economy is still adding jobs, though not enough jobs nor enough of the good-paying jobs, so I can kind of understand why people are feeling a little pessimistic about it. There are things that President Obama and the Democrats want to do but the Republicans in the House are blockading anything substantive that might help things get better for more people. Does anybody else have any ideas?

[Lns.Lns]

17. Yeah, I have an idea

Vote them out in 2014 (P.S. you forgot the Senate filibuster in your blockading statement)

[Fordham03]

25. Red states

How are we going to get them out in the Red states where they seem to relish this standstill in our country just to spite this black president. Boehner is useless; he just seems to want to protect his job instead of shaming the Tea party to do the right thing.

I agree that the people that work for Obama have not served him well in the Affordable Healthcare Act. The roll-out should have been delayed if there were problems; certainly, they should have had the top computer people working on this since this was so important. This is his signature legislation. The GOP is jumping with joy. Eventually, it will be straightened out, but the perception is damaged because most people didn't know what the benefits of this new insurance were. The Dems were so busy passing it, they didn't explain it adequately and that enabled people like Palin to scare the living daylights out of people with her "death panels" comment. It has to be fixed to salvage Obama's reputation--namely, "if you like your insurance you can keep it." Insurance companies are complicit in wanting to sink it to protect their profits. We are so afraid of Socialized Medicine that we are willing to bankrupt the American people in the name of profit.

[Lns.Lns]

38. Yeah but

Here's the deal. The public has the attention span of a gnat. Remember Fast & Furious, IRS, Benghazi, BP oil Spill, Guns, Gods & Gays, and I could go on. Everything is a scandal. This will pass when it is fixed. Problem is that Dems can be a bit wussy. If we had the balls of the Reps we would own the country. For instance, my state, California, if we gerrymandered like they do we would own the house. But in the long run, I do believe fairness wins. It just is a little irritating to me when a new so called "scandal" arises people just don't stand up and say it is either not a scandal or it will get fixed or something other that freak out. I love the way they lie constantly and no one ever calls them out, but Obama... the devious scamp... he deceived, it's his Katrina, it his Watergate or his Mission Accomplished moment or whatever their squeegee little minds can think of, but can never find.

Don't worry... I predict it will be fixed and it will be good for the country.

[dballance]

4. I'm happy to see this was the sort of post I expected

I just knew when I clicked on the link it was going to be how his ratings might not be the best but still better than most.

[dchill]

5. That's just the media doing their job...

Taking a bow for trashing Obamacare!
Kudos, assholes!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

9. bingo!

That's why I don't watch! It's poisonous.

[1StrongBlackMan]

20. Which bring to mind the question …

If President Obama really were the corporatist tool of the 1%, as we are frequent told around here, why would the wholly owned and operated, corporate media be so fixated on driving down his numbers?

[dchill]

24. Sincerely, that is a GOOD question.

I do believe that he is somewhat of a corporatist tool, but also that being president is more complex than I can possibly conceive...

[Dawson Leery]

39. +1

The media downplayed Bush's horrific disaster in Iraq during 2006.
CNN made it clear that with all of the problems the GOP/Bush had, Democrats were too weak to retake the congress.

[JoePhilly]

6. I'm pretty sure this will prevent Obama from getting a 3rd term.

I'm betting that the media is going to milk this until thanksgiving. Then, there will be a lull in the freak out.

Then, the media will be in search of a new freak out for Christmas.

[Sunlei]

7. O's a loveable man, We will always pick him up :)

[Laura PourMeADrink]

8. I don't see how anyone can just blow this off as no big deal. It is not good. It is sad to me.

Wish he had a good PR agent.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

10. I wish we had a genuine, ethical media!

Instead of the megacorporations' propaganda profit circus 24/7 spectacle we've got.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

13. True Dat. It is a sad 'way of the world' for sure. Actually, I think instant

business news has really screwed up the economy too. It has forced companies to plan for the next day and not the next five years. Profits/Problems are aired around the world every minute of the day. No wonder raises and benefits have be cut - only way to sustain enough growth.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

14. interesting point...

I never thought of that. Hmmmm. Makes sense.

[Lns.Lns]

18. The reason it is no big deal is because of history

There have been so many OMG "scandals", Fast & Furious, IRS, Benghazi, blah blah blah until sooner or later it becomes a "Cry Wolf" to even the densest of people. Basically, I think it just adds more wood to the fire when this turns out to be a non scandal.

I have a conservative Mom and I even have her "bitching" about the greed and spuriousness of Wall Street. I have made about a third of the way to liking the ACA. She is becoming proud of herself for letting go of the prejudices she was raised with. She actually has some black and latino friends now. Guess what? The aren't really scary people after all. Little by little, it gets through eventually.

I think history will be kind to Obama. We a had a big old right leaning ship of a country for decades and I credit him for turning this thing around so other Democrats going forward won't be fighting the big battles. All you have to do is enumerate the changes and directions we have been going since he took over this mess rather than focusing on the scandal du jour.

Sometimes, I think Progressives are too hard on him. If he was too progressive he would never have been able to drag most of the country in the positive direction it has been going. It is the long game that counts. Kudos to all the people who help him too.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

21. I agree - he is trying to do well. Absolutely. BUT anyone who thinks

it's OK to be way down in the polls is really not being honest IMHO. It is never a good thing to be down in the polls. And, saying history will redeem him reminds me of what all the wingnuts said about Bush.

[CBHagman]

23. Well, considering that Harry Truman had some seriously low ratings...

...the result of the week or even the month is no indication of where historians will land. I think the 24/7 news cycle seriously skews people's view of reality, especially since the media is all about marketing, and what sells? Drama.

Also, the media tends to choose a narrative and stick to it, even if the facts don't line up accordingly. A classic example is The Washington Post's depiction of the final days of the Clinton presidency. They went on and on about what a controversial figure he was, how he was ending on a low note because of the Marc Rich pardon, yada, yada, yada. They contrasted him unfavorably with Reagan, often depicted by the media as the ultimate popular president.

But when you look at the figures the story is a little more complex, and then there's the post-presidency reputation. Clinton had and has his enemies, no doubt about it, but he hasn't exactly been an outcast since January 20th, 2001.

For an overview of presidential ratings, check here. You can display the data for the presidents individually, too.

[url]http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php?pres=&sort=time&direct=DESC&Submit=DISPLAY[/url]

[Laura PourMeADrink]

26. Thanks for pulling this together. My point is very simple - it has nothing to do with any other

president or anything else that will happen in the future. It is a bad thing that his
approval rating is where it is. Period.

[Lns.Lns]

40. Ok - we will see where his "polls" are March 31

Even after everyone is "forced" (according to Reps) to have insurance. I am capable of being wrong, but I have watched people freak out over and over every time something "looks" bad according to Rep spin. Each time they recover after the truth is known. As far as the wingnut comment... I don't take that personal because comparing the Iraq war with the ACA... well I don't think I need to explain myself.

[Avalux]

12. I heard this morning that the country no longer trusts him - ABC News.

The issues with the ACA website and people being let go from their insurance plans were cited as reasons. No actual poll was presented though.

[SmittynMo]

15. So who really gives a sh*t?

It happens every time a president is in his last and final term. What's the big deal? I have to hand it to Obama though. He's still moving forward with his agenda. Progress!!! Keep moving forward!!!

And besides, he'll NEVER be as bad as George.

[Dawson Leery]

16. +1

[discocrisco01]

19. Nothing to do ideology

This is has nothing to do with the progressive ideology which in my opinion is absolutely correct, but more rather to do with bad management of federal contractors. The other problem is that Obama did not properly clarify his remarks to the American people. Instead of saying that "you would keep your health insurances", he should had stated "You are going to lose your insurance, but you can obtain new insurance on the exchanges that offers you better coverage, lower out of pocket costs, and a better value, if even it is slightly more expensive than the plan that you have now."

[hollowdweller]

22. The Health Care thing is hurting him bad

As politically conscious as the administration is and the ability to win messaging wars they should have seen this coming and be prepared.

But I believe it is typical of Obama to slack off and then get in trouble and then buckle down and come out ok.

I think his numbers will go back up if he gets it together and the ACA does ok.

[Indyfan53]

27. We need to support him in the polls.

Answer the polls for NBC/WSJ, PPP, etc. Show your support!

[cyberswede]

29. Someone new?

How would we do that?

[AlinPA]

31. Which teabagger do you propose?

[Cirque du So-What]

32. You forgot Benghazi!

You know he was knowing everything about something happen know look bad. Now.

[gopiscrap]

33. WTF and Bush did even know his own fucking name half the time

[sheshe2]

34. Guess what,

it was a 5-1....One person said leave it. Go figure.

[gopiscrap]

35. I was the one who sent the alert

[sheshe2]

36. Thanks for that, gopiscrap.

They are a gone now.

[gopiscrap]

37. thanks...good, could it was just an interupter

[Rosa Luxemburg]

30. The public is highly gullible

Baa!