Has the sheen finally worn off the Obama presidency?
Let us count the polls.
Overall, 45% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's performance. Fifty-five percent (55%) at least somewhat disapprove.
Ouch.
But then it gets interesting.
Allahpundit notes that some Democrats are emo about the Bamster.
“Given all that, it’s no surprise that many Democrats are running away from Obama. But here’s the problem: He did what Democrats wanted him to do. Health care, stimulus, taxes, you name it — Obama did what his party wanted. Not what the public at large wanted, but what many Democrats wanted. And now, as the negative electoral consequences of their own priorities stare them in the face, those Democrats are blaming the president…
“‘It’s ingratitude,’ says a Democratic strategist who asked to remain anonymous. ‘People are saying to [Obama], ‘You didn’t do everything you told me you were going to do.’ If you’re a member of a union, you didn’t get everything you wanted. If you’re an environmentalist, you didn’t get everything you wanted.But the left wants to go beyond what’s possible.’…
“This is a serious question: If you’re a Democrat, what’s not to like? What kind of unreasonable standard would make a Democrat unhappy with a president who accomplished those things?And yet many Democrats are beside themselves with frustration and anxiety.”
But then how to explain this?
See, I dunno if Democrats are the problem here.
They're still stoked for the Barry agenda to the tune of 77%.
Republicans never loved President GreenJobs McPassThisBill, so that 13% approval rating isn't surprising (in fact, it's more shocking that Obama's GOP approval numbers are so high).
So if rank and file DonkeyPunchers still basically dig St. Bambi and Republicans continue to dislike the pResident, why is the Duffer-in-Chief in trouble? A few things are happening here. First, Obama is underwater amongst moderates. These folks are basically low-information voters and people disengaged with American politics. They're basically going with their gut impression of the President's performance. They have found him wanting.
The other reason why Obama is tanking now has to do with his base. Over three quarters of Democrats think Obama is doing a good job. That sounds rad, but is it really so impressive? 21% of Americans identify as liberals, compared with 41% who think of themselves as conservative and 36% who call themselves moderates. What this means is that Obama--and liberals in general--have a much tougher fight to maintain approval from the American electorate. Seventy seven percent of 21 isn't as good as
fifty percent of 41.
In other words, a liberal can have his base on lock-down and still be toast if the right has totally tuned him out and the middle is repulsed.
Don't get me wrong. I think a lot of Democrats are getting annoyed with their Messiah figure. They're not mad because Obama has gone too far to the left. They're anxious because they feel like all the statist gains the socialists have made over the last few years--Dodd-Frank, Cap-n-Tax, ObamaCare, the promise of endless stimuli/union prop-ups, are going to end or be reversed due to Obama's inability to rally a winning electoral coalition to the Democrat flag anymore. Most of all, they're pissed because Obama hasn't been able to go to the left and maintained his popularity at the same time.
In other words, the American Left once again finds itself angrily stamping their feet against a reality they just can't accept. This is a position they find themselves in quite often. You'd think they'd be used to it by now.
