It's official. President Obama's Disapproval rating, as an average, is higher than his Approval rating.
For a while now some polls have already been there while others have slowly followed suit. Pollster.com has compiled the average, and as of today, this is where we are. Were I a member of the Administration, the trendlines would bother me. Bigtime.
From Rasmussen:
Overall, 47% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President’s performance. That’s the lowest level of total approval yet recorded. The President’s ratings first fell below 50% just a few weeks ago on July 25. Fifty-two percent (52%) now disapprove.
Political polling; take it FWIW.
Poll results from Quinnipiac University. Take from it what you will...
-President's Job Approval Falls to 50%
-52% Disapprove on Health Care
-Right Track 35% Wrong Direction 64%
From CNN and equally interesting:
"Do you consider the first six months of the Obama administration to be a success or a failure?"
Obama sees the bottom-side of 50% for the first time.
The first rule of holes is of course 'stop digging.' I don't expect however that the Administration will suddenly reverse on the very things that have helped drive those ratings down over the last 4 months.
This occupies a permanent spot on the sidebar now and here are the findings in detail. Somebody, somewhere is misreading things badly. The question is, who? The highlights from James Joyner's rundown:
--57% believe “The Iraq War is a key part of the global war on terrorism.”
--57% “support finishing the job in Iraq, that is, keeping the troops there until the Iraqi government can maintain control and provide security for its people.
--50% want our troops should stay and “do whatever it takes to restore order until the Iraqis can govern and provide security to their country” while only 17% favor immediate withdrawal
--56% believe “Even if they have concerns about his war policies, Americans should stand behind the President in Iraq because we are at war.”
--53% believe “The Democrats are going too far, too fast in pressing the President to withdraw the troops from Iraq.”
and
--“The survey shows Americans want to win in Iraq, and that they understand Iraq is the central point in the war against terrorism and they can support a U.S. strategy aimed at achieving victory,” said Neil Newhouse, a partner in POS. “The idea of pulling back from Iraq is not where the majority of Americans are.”
--“How Americans view the war does not line up with the partisan messages or actions coming out of Washington,” said Davis Lundy, president of The Moriah Group [the Chattanooga PR firm which commissioned the survey]. “There are still a majority of Americans out there who want to support the President and a focused effort to define and achieve victory.”
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