PrintJuly 16, 2009
Inside Obama's freefall in the polls
Allah at Hot Air points out he's down 9 points in a month with the all important independents dropping the president like yesterday's dead fish:
Net approval: Down 15 points since June. Net who say they'd vote to reelect The One rather than vote for someone else: A measly +3, down 13 points. Number who say they're confident the stimulus will turn the economy around: 39 percent, also down 13 points. And the number who say the country's "seriously off on the wrong track": 55 percent, up 13 points.
Surely this trend is a function of miserable unemployment numbers, bound to reverse itself instantly once the economy starts cranking out jobs again, right? Hmmm.
Indeed, the poll's internals offer up an interesting view of how the public perceives Obama's policies:
In the context of decreasing levels of confidence in the current stimulus package, coupled with discussion about the viability of another one, the Poll shows very little support for a proposal for another stimulus package, with only 36% saying they would support such a proposal and 52% saying they would oppose it, with 40% saying they would strongly oppose it.
At the same time, it is clear that concerns over the prospect of greater deficits trump concerns over economic recovery. When given the choice, voters would prefer a slower economic recovery that incurs smaller deficits than a quicker economic recovery with greater deficits. Specifically, 71% of voters say they would choose a slower economic recovery with a lower deficit, compared with 23% of voters who say they would prefer a quicker recovery with a higher deficit.
Does this sound like a population engaged in a "seismic shift" to the left? Not hardly. The poll indicates a public getting very worried about the future as well as a loss of faith that Obama knows what he's doing.
I find it incredible that 71% of the country would prefer a slower recovery to higher deficits. That's a very high number and shows that the American people have a very realistic attitude about the economy.
There are openings galore for the GOP. Sadly, the party appears so discombobulated at the moment that by the time they get organized, it may be too late - both electorally and for the economy.
