That chart looks like the natural ebbs and flows of any Presidential approval rating chart. Not one of a President that has been a disaster like you Neo-Con's want to lead everyone to believe.
Yeah, for the most divisive president in history, thats a pretty odd graph stating the exact opposite.
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-presapp0605-31.html I think Obama's popularity is really higher right now than he deserves, even though I voted for him and will vote again for him. BTW- I love the drawing they used with George W Bush on his chart. Just busts me up.
Funny, but virtually everything on your list would be a black mark as far as I'm concerned. Health care reform, per the screwy mess shoved through congress, is going to be an unmitigated disaster. There's a reason that they didn't implement the majority of the reforms until 2014 ... they didn't want the shit to hit the fan before this election. Ended the war in Iraq...after the Bush troop surge made it possible and on the same timetable that Bush was proposing. Captured Bin Laden ... well I thought it was our intelligence operatives and the Seals that did it, but yeah, Obama gave the go ahead as any president would have. Turned around the auto industry ... Ha! How many of you plan on buying an American-made car in the near future? He gave costly emergency room treatment to a dying patient. How many times are tax payers supposed to bail out the US auto industry? Dodd-Frank ... I think the jury is still out on how effective that legislation is going to be in the long run. Boosted fuel efficiency standards ... This one cracks me up because it's a typical Democratic approach to governance. See a perceived problem, pass a law mandating a change, and then announce problem solved while clapping yourself on the back. Get back to me when these laws go into effect and people start seeing the price tags to buy under-powered cars that don't meet their needs. Improved America's image abroad? Curious, but that doesn't seem to mesh well with what I'm seeing on my TV screen on a nightly basis. Looks to me like a good part of the world hates our guts. Education reform? Specifics please. Same with support for veterans. Repealed 'Don't ask, Don't Tell' ... I don't have a problem with this, but I suspect that it just took the time since Clinton instituted that policy for national mores to change to where it's become viable. Perception really is an individual matter, I guess. For me, this piece on CNN pretty much sums up my major reasons for not supporting Obama: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/27/opinion/bennett-dont-vote-for-obama/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
It's mostly interesting for how flat it is. Many other presidents had much bigger swings. Guess Romney was right. Us 47% lazy victims are going to approve of Obama no matter what. barfo
I don't think his best strategy is to be "likable"; Obama is already viewed as the nice guy of this campaign. I think Romney needs to demonstrate how much more he understands about the economy than Obama, and how Obama is over his head in his current job. He shouldn't worry how he comes across. I think he needs to demonstrate toughness rather than kindness.
REALLY? Look at the numbers when he took office and what they are now. You think that's normal? Ed O.
I don't hate him. He's a likable enough guy, although a little pompous and arrogant (yes, I understand the irony given my posting style). I simply disagree with his policy prescriptions. I would have happily been proven wrong and had his command and control demand-side approach work if it meant our economy was healthy. However, we've borrowed another $6T with nothing to show for it. Our structural problems are much worse now than they were four years ago. It is possible to disagree with someone without villifying them.
It's not relevant to the most divisive ever. It's relevant to (if approval is to be used as a measure of competence) how people have perceived his competence over time. Divisiveness is measured by looking at strong approval and strong disapproval rates. I don't have any recent charts/data showing that, but he's definitely divisive on that score. Ed O.
Hey now, lets leave Bush out of this!!!! Unless of course it suits your argument. The same people on this board that can't stand Obama, were Bush apologists. Strange how that works.
He's gone from 65 to 50. That doesn't seem so bad compared to past presidents. W went from high 80s to high 20s. Papa Bush went from mid 80s to mid 30s. Carter went from 70 to 30. In fact the only presidents with smaller drops in approval are Clinton, Reagan, Ford, and Ike. barfo
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-presapp0605-31.html shows that obamas decline in approval is the rule, not the exception, pretty much only clinton has had an upward climb
Interesting. I see what you are saying, but I think a lot of people who don't know Romney fear what he might to do people of little wealth. The tough guy image might just reinforce that he is a heartless good old boy that only cares about big business. I understand the economy is Romney's best bet to get votes. But charisma is a factor for many voters. I actually can see him being better on the economy, I have a hard time seeing him being the face of the US and even harder time voting for a person you I don't really like. But even thinking all this, I wish people would stop and listen to what he has to say. He might actually be able to help the economy and be a much nicer person than he comes across as.
Perception really is indivdual. Obama gets no credit from you for Bin Laden as it is intelligence and the seals that did that and any president would give the call to attackin Pakistan, but apparently they are Bush's troops that made the surge and kept on the timetable when it comes to Iraq.
I'm not going to go point for point with you because its fruitless as we have different political points of view, but the Health Care reform has already been huge to me. In 2010 I racked up hundreds of thousand in medical bills while in the hospital, thanks to health care reform I had dual coverage and paid very little out of pocket. Presidents get credit for what happens under their watch. As much as it might pain an Obama hater to admit, years from now when we look back on the Obama presidency it will without a doubt be one of his many highlights. As far as education reform, look up 'Race to the Top'.
you are right, obama was historically and unprecedentedly popular coming into office, and we should hold that against him i mean he was almost as high as bush after 9/11 even! :MARIS61:
