Despite all the criticism, Obama up to 50% in today's Gallup Tracking Poll

[jenmito]

and down to 43% disapproval: http://www.gallup.com/Home.aspx :thumbsup:

[Deep13]

1. And you know some of the 43% are some of his own supporters...

...who think he caves in too much. It's not like 43% want us to go further to the right.

[jenmito]

3. Of course "some" are his own supporters...

most are not.

[Deep13]

6. Yeah, so it's more like 39 or 40% who lean more to the right.

Still, it's pretty disturbing how right wing people can be.

[Silence Dogood]

39. Can't trust Gallup Polls anymore... Contracted by gov for shaping public opinion..

"In June, 2009 the US Special Operations Command and Gallup Polls signed an agreement to process the results of opinion polls in different parts of the world in order to use them later during implementing campaigns aimed at shaping public opinion…."

http://orientalreview.org/2011/03/01/the-theory-of-manageable-chaos-put-into-practice/

[dennis4868]

5. A great majority....

don't see it as caving....they see the environment Obama is in right now....a congress that includes a party that wants the US to fails, blue dogs that are really repubs, and Obama does not have the numbers that FDR and Johnson had, so he has to give and take to get something done....that is why Obama told us that change happends in baby steps....many here think Obama is king and that he can pass any law he wants whenever he wants too without having to deal with congress....that is why many DUers blame him and not congress....it's irratiuonal thinking but one that is certainly present here at DU and some other blogs....thankfully these people make up a very small % of the voting public, maybe less than 1%.

[Armstead]

10. I would guess trhat most who are critical of Obama are also critical of Congress

Obama is a symptom of deeper problems within the Democratic Party.

[vaberella]

41. Really?! I would call that false.

I am highly critical of Congress and not as critical of Obama. Since Obama is not of the legislative body and there fore making most of the policies/laws tat are in place. He's enforcing them, but not making them---except for rarely.

Additionally--I also realize that many progressive agendas are killed by the Congress and not the by the president. So I don't get your point. I also notice that majority of the people who are critical of Obama are very often not as critical on Congress. For instance in the case of Gitmo. Most people blame Obama for not closing it down when it was Congress who stalled it. Or in the case of allowing the Bush tax cuts for the rich to be expired. People blame Obama, and not Congress. When the measure to allow the Bush tax cuts for the rich failed in the House TWICE--never even making it to the Senate. This was done in Congress. Not by the President who advocated for it to be expired. Any other way to ensure Bush tax cuts for the rich expired was by doing so with the poor and middle class tax cuts which were all inclusive. But if I take DU as a base on your statement. It was Congress who killed the effort not Obama, but it was Obama who took the brunt of the blame.

So I find your statement basically false. And what makes it even more tragic is that in this same poll apparently Liberal Dems actually favor this President by a higher margin than Conservative Dems and moderate Dems----a much much much higher margin---the disparity is in the teens to 20s.

[dennis4868]

2. As I said before....

the liberals who believe that Obama should have already completed change that is perfect in every possible way in less than 2 years are a very small number....on DU it's a very high number.....but in the grand scheme of things, they probably make up less than 1% of the voting public....Obama told us over and over in 2008 that change happens in baby steps and takes a hell of alot of time....most DUers and the professional left refuse to want to remember this.....

[jenmito]

7. Yup...

and some clearly weren't paying attention to what he was saying. He was ALWAYS telling us that change is hard.

[Armstead]

14. I think progressives who have been pushing for decades might resent that condescending statement

You think people who have been trying to stop the Assault of the Corporate Oligarchs and trying to get the Democratic Party to stop enabling that assault since the 80's don't realize that "change is hard"?

[jenmito]

20. I think progressives who are angry at Obama for wars still going on in 2 countries

and those with similar complaints are those I'm talking about.

[treestar]

28. Then why are they complaining so much?

If they know it's hard?

[Armstead]

35. Because they might like a little help from the people who claim to represent them

...instead of seeing too many Democratic politicians and their enablers subverting basic liberalism with their messages and policies.

Yes change is hard -- especially when the people who are supposed to be our representatives in the political system keep poking stickes in our eyes.

Example: In the mid-1990s many people lobbied and implored Clinton not to deregulate the radio industry warning that it will lead to media monopolies swallowing it all up. They were told to shut up and sit down. Look at what's happened to the radio business since then.

[treestar]

36. A little help? What are they doing?

They're just bashing Obama for not doing it single handedly. You'd think from your post they were doing something constructive!

[Armstead]

37. That's simpleminded nonsense

I'd suggest you look around and do some reading beyond DU with an open kmind and you'll find a lot of people working on a lot of different levels on these things......Most of it has very little to do with "obama bashing."..Much of it actually has very little to do with President Obama.

[Deep13]

8. That's a mischaracterization....

We never expected perfection. We expected him to do what he promised and not become Reagan Lite. Seriously, the insurance reform we have is more stingy than what Bob Dole proposed in '96. All I'm saying is he could have applied a lot more pressure.

[dennis4868]

9. Tell me this is Reagan lite....

www.whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com

if you actually go to the link and read it, you will not be able to say witha straight face that Obama is Reagan lite....that is total BS!

[Wait Wut]

Read what you wrote...

What "Bob Dole proposed".

What was accomplished, "Pres. Obama passed".

What you are saying is that Pres. Obama should have fought harder for what Dole wanted so that it wouldn't pass, because it was sooooooooo easy to get what we finally...after decades...got.

The majority of us (if not all) would have loved a PO, Universal or Medicare for all. We were all there while it was fought out. We know why Pres. Obama "fighting harder" wouldn't have gotten us "more" but most definitely "less".

[Ikonoklast]

25. More pressure on the Senate would have meant no HCR at all.

It went as far as it could go, and this "Obama should have tried HARDER!" meme doesn't fly in the face of what was actually doable with the votes at hand.

No magic wand waving was going to change the fact that ONE pissed-off senator could have killed it completely, and it came very close to that.

[Armstead]

12. The real problem is not the dominance of the Corporate Oligarchy. It's that damned professional left

When will we realize that those ultra liberals and progressive agitators are the ones who have really driven this nation into the ditch?

Glen Beck told me so.

[dennis4868]

15. I never said or mean to imply that the

ultra liberals and progressive agitators are the ones who have really driven this nation into the ditch.....and you know that....that was not my point....

[Armstead]

18. Then why demonize them? It';s like the GOP referring to " the Democrat plan..."

Actually there ARE many who could be called the "professional left" who work in community organizing, social services, political advocacy, journalism and many other fields to advance progressive/liberal goals in the trenches on a day-to-day basis.

They should be appreciated and praised, rather than dismissed as "naive" or "malcontents" "purists" and the other crap that gets flung around here and in the larger world of Democratic politics to marginalize them and their ideas..

When phrases liker "professional left" are used dismissively in a way that is intended to insult, it has the same effect as Republicans who purposely use the shortened term ("the Democrat agenda" instead of the Democratic agenda)) as a dismissive adjective that the GOP know pisses Democrats off.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. tis a function of who and how they criticize him

The idea that the president cannot fill out some march maddening POS form about a boring kid's sport, is worse than insulting. It is unAmerican. Hell, it might even be french.

As for Who? Michelle and Sarah and Newt and Rickiepoo - these guys are the grifts that keep on grifting. I hope they never shut up. The more they do, the better it is for the rest of America, especially moderates, progressives and liberals. And the President's re-election efforts.

[emulatorloo]

11. Job Approval among Dems: 79%. Liberal Dems:87%

http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Approval-Center.aspx

March 7-13 2011

Job Approval

Liberal Dems 87%
Moderate Dems 73%
Conservative Dems 69%

[jenmito]

13. Wow! How 'bout that? You'd never guess that if you went by the posts on DU!

:fistbump:

[katsy]

24. I'm almost always right there when the President

deserves a kick in the butt (IMO).

I'd be giving him all positives if some polling agency called me. I'd be part of that 87%. I'll vote for him again unless there's a more progressive challenger that can win the general election.

My daddy told me that you vote for the people you want to work for you but understand that the minute they get elected you need to keep your eyes on them every minute. Trust them no more. And he was right then and he is right now.

I have every right to be critical of the President when he's acting in no one's best interest or like a spineless fool. And he has acted in that manner when it came to the healthcare fight, when he bailed out the banking crooks, when he gave in to tax breaks for the rich, when there is no justice for the criminals that torture and start wars for profit. He allows illegal spying on Americans, hasn't closed Guantanamo and I'm too old to be kept waiting. I want action. I want him to be my champion not the gop's sock puppet, okay?

Do you really believe we lost congress in 2010 because of a few snotty self-important tea party lunatics? They had the power?

No. We lost because the President bailed out the banking criminals. We lost because the President allowed health insurers to make the calls on a lame health care bill. No link to those statements. It's just my opinion and it makes more sense than make believing that there are trillions of tea partiers on the sidelines. I have a health policy that I can't use because I can't afford the deductible and I'm not the only one. Too poor to get healthcare, too middle class to get a break on healthcare. Are you kidding me? You buy that bs tea party roar crap the media passes off? The young people are progressive and smart. They know when they hear the bs and they stay home. I don't take issue with them for standing up for their beliefs. When I meet up with one of them, I try to encourage them otherwise. But I respect their stand. After watching these slimeball politicians all these years, the youth are a breath of fresh air.

Unless we shoot dissenters, I have issues and I express them to the White House and here because I hurt. And I don't feel so alone when I'm here. Why single out people like me to ridicule?

I am not anyone's enemy. I am a progressive and I want more from my elected officials. I work hard locally for progressives. I hold my nose on the federal level hoping beyond hope we get someone to serve us honorably and honestly. Tough shit for me, President Obama can't fill my standards. That doesn't make me the villain here.

Good on that poll. Now I'm going off to write another letter to the White House about my disappointment with my President. Anyone have a problem with that?

On edit: Jenmito is someone I respect a lot. I read your stuff, you are very smart and funny. Don't beat on me.

[jenmito]

29. Your post is very well-written...

but I disagree that Dems. didn't vote because of Obama being "the gop's sock puppet." The teabaggers turned out because they're stupid and scared that if Repubs. aren't in the majority, they'll lose their country. I believe that the young people didn't vote because Obama wasn't on the ballot.

But thanks for the compliment.

[katsy]

30. And I want you to be right. Nt

[jenmito]

31. So do I. n/t

[jefferson_dem]

16. Noooooooo... 87% of liberal Dems!

That one's going to leave a mark.

[27inCali]

23. ALL of that other 13% are most definitely here, haha!

[ClarkUSA]

22. This deserves an OP of its very own in GD, just to shake the rotten fruit off of trees

[vaberella]

40. Give it's own OP...SOME ONE!! Wow...this is amazing!

This poll makes you question what kind of Dem you are!

[Scurrilous]

17. K & R

:thumbsup:

[AtomicKitten]

19. That's great news as we slide into another election season.

[jenmito]

21. It sure is!

[great white snark]

26. Wonderful news! Thank you jenmito.

Wonderful news for his supporters I mean. On the DU I was actually asked if I live in a cave because I know many supporters outside of here. This poll shows we do exist!


edited typo

[tallahasseedem]

27. Not to be too redundant but...

you bet your ass he is! :)

Thank you for posting!

[craigmatic]

32. Typically the higher approval rating a politician has the less he's done.

He's steered clear of the labor protests, and the budget battle. Just saying.

[jenmito]

33. Wow-that's a new one!

Good try! Not really. Just sayin'.

[DeSwiss]

34. ....

[Pisces]

38. That's because the US is not a snapshot of DU. People come here to cause problems and plant seeds of

negativity. Obama has an 87% approval among Dems. I think he is doing ok.

[Jennicut]

42. It is 51% today.

Not bad for a President that was written off just a few months earlier.

[ClarkUSA]

43. Keep us updated, jen. This news must be giving his 24/7 opponents heartburn.

Obviously, it was a great idea to fill out those NCAA brackets on ESPN! ;)

[Teaser]

44. How can 50% of people approve of History's Greatest Monster?

.

[TheKentuckian]

45. Did the wealth disparity shrink? Has the money funnel to the top stopped? Are we ceasing the assault

on public education? Are we firmly and relentlessly restoring our civil liberties? Are we prosecuting Robber Barons or those who have committed crimes against humanity.
Are we thinking of workers and the poor first or are the wishes of the predator capital class paramount?
Have we made safe the nation from the perverse incentives and corporate capture of regulatory agencies and Congress that led to the economic train wreck? Have the mega banks been reduced to a manageable size that prevents them from individually threatening to sink the economy? Have we punted Reaganomic/supply side into space?

Those are the kind of things that really tell the tale of the health of our nation and our people not poll watching.