How Low Can He Go? Rasmussen Reports Shows Steep Drop in Obama Job Approval Ratings

I trust Rasmussen Reports because they look at likely voters, the registered voters most likely to actually make a difference by turning out for elections. Moreover, Rasmussen has demonstrated an uncanny degree of accuracy in predicting the exact results of Presidential elections. Accordingly, I think Barack Obama and his administration have just gotten the clearest possible warning from the American people that the administration is going in the wrong direction.



For example, in today's Rasmussen survey, Obama reached the lowest point of his presidency - an overwhelmingly negative -14 on Rasmussen's "approval index." Rasmussen constructs this approval index by subtracting the 27 percent who now "strongly approve" of Obama's performance from the 41 percent who "strongly disapprove."

I think these negative approval numbers are a little unfair to President Obama since they include people who disagree with Obama on policy issues and others who agree with the President and are upset that he is not winning the battle on health care or other prized liberal issues. In a larger sense, however, low approval numbers undermine a President's credibility and political influence. These numbers indicate that it will be easier for Blue Dog Democrats and Republicans to claim that the President is making mistakes and that they should not follow his direction - particularly when he leads us towards his beloved Marxist socialist utopia.


John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Rasmussen Reports: Increasing Power of Opponents of Obama's Health Care Reform

Rasmussen Reports indicate that Obama's health care reform program is still dropping in the polls. This, of course, is one of the reasons he wanted to push it through before the August recess. Rasmussen also indicates that opposition to single-payer medical care (socialized medicine) - which Obama supported quite publicly in the past - runs at 57% to 32%. To me, the larger question is why does Obama keep pushing a project that is so unpopular with the American people? This can't do anything but undermine his influence and reduce his power overall.

Part of the answer, according to Rasmussen, is that Democrats strongly approve of single-payer. Democrats support single-payer at the rate of 62%. In contrast, Republicans reject single-payer at a rate of 87%, while those not affiliated with either party reject single payer by a 63-22% margin. The lesson here, I think, is that single-payer is a terrific "wedge" issue.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

The Gates of Unpopularity: Obama Dropping in Job Approval Numbers

There is plenty of good news in the paper today. Rasmussen Reports, for example, now shows a majority of likely voters disapprove of President Obama's performance. They indicated that 49% of voters say they at least somewhat approve, while fifty percent (50%) disapprove.

Rasmussen Reports have a tendency to make Obama look relatively less popular because they are based on a sample of likely voters.

Other firms that are more popular with the mainstream media base their approval ratings on samples of all adults. As Rasmussen indicates: "President Obama's numbers are always several points higher in a poll of adults rather than likely voters." The reason? The younger voters who are among the most ardent supporters of Obama are actually less likely to show up and vote in mid-term and later presidential elections.

Augustine 25 is the pseudonym of an award-winning political scientist.

Bad Obama, No Cigarette: Rasmussen Shows Sharp Increase in Obama Disapproval Numbers

President Obama's job approval rate now equals his job disapproval rate for the first time in his Presidential term. What is the cause of this uptick in disappointment with the new President? My guess is that higher disapproval ratings are tied to negative news stories about the Obama administration. Negative stories have been associated with his desire to close Gitmo and bring terrorists to U.S. territory, with Judge Sotomayor's questionable statements regarding the superiority of the "wise Latina," and bad news about the GM bankruptcy. Traditionally, however, a key factor in personal judgments about Presidential approval is the voter's view of the economy. Here, increased unemployment rates are probably most highly correlated with Obama's declining job approval numbers.