Despite solid overall approval ratings, recent polls show dwindling support for President Barack Obama’s focus on health care reform—and instead underscore the public’s concern for the snowballing budget deficit.
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, released June 17, found that 58% of those surveyed believe that Congress should focus on keeping the budget deficit down, even if takes longer for the economy to recover. Nearly a quarter of Americans said that the most pressing economic issue facing the United States was the budget deficit, while only 11% responded that it was health care.
Similarly, a recent New York Times/CBS poll found its respondents increasingly skeptical of the President’s economic policies. According to the New York Times, “a substantial majority of Americans say President Obama has not developed a strategy to deal with the budget deficit, ” The Times also pointed out that
A distinct gulf exists between Mr. Obama’s overall standing and how some of his key initiatives are viewed, with fewer than half of Americans saying they approve of how he has handled health care and the effort to save General Motors and Chrysler. A majority of people said his policies have had either no effect yet on improving the economy or had made it worse, underscoring how his political strength still rests on faith in his leadership rather than concrete results.
As well, both polls found that while Obama’s approval rating remains high, it shows signs of wilting: The WSJ/NBC poll recorded a five point drop, from 61-56%, from April. The Journal also found that the President’s approval rating among independent voters suffered a substantial drop since April, from almost 2-1 in favor to now 1-1.
These statistics suggest that public debt is, and will, continue to be this administration’s greatest political weakness. That said, unless Republicans get serious about reigning in spending right now, they will not be able to capitalize on this issue going forward. To credibly argue that the Obama administration is irresponsible for running up the deficits, the GOP will have to stop being the party of the supply sider and go back to being the party of the deficit hawk. “Read my lips: new taxes…..for everyone” will be politically painful in the short term, but Republican outrage over public spending is going to fall on deaf ears until the party backs up its words with actions. This country cannot afford to continue its accumulating debt. President Obama’s future spending plans are unequivocally and indisputably irresponsible, but voters won’t hold him accountable unless the opposition provides an alternative.
Responsibility… What’s our policy?
16 responses so far
1 midcon // Jun 18, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Jeb,
This is the crux of the issue with the GOP, the lack of an alternative. Obama’s ideas may be bad but when they are the only ideas on the table what choice do the people have?
Many of us, including you, have been nearly screaming for the GOP to say something other than No. To propose something, to advocate something – all to no avail. Maybe someday.
2 Chrisc23 // Jun 18, 2009 at 8:29 pm
One Name- Leonard Lance (R) NJ for President 2012.
This man is brilliant.
3 barker13 // Jun 19, 2009 at 5:48 am
Bad ideas, bad policies, are… er… bad.
Period.
God help us if the general attitude is, “well… it may seem a bad idea, but we’ve gotta try something.”
Oh… wait… that IS what happened! It happened under Bush, it’s happening under Obama.
(*SNORT*)
Do I have a solution? Yes! Military coup! (*SMIRK*)
Oh… you mean a VIABLE solution… (*PENSIVE FROWN*)
Stop going in the WRONG direction! Stop destroying the dollar. Stop overreaching in foreign policy. Stop creating new and expanded entitlements and unfunded liabilities.
As to what our proactive policies should be, well, we each throw out our various suggestions regularly (some of us offering more specificity than others), but as for the GOP… there is no one “leader.”
Hey… I’ll keep on suggesting what I have been suggesting – replace the present Republican leadership with true conservatives, members of the RSC, perhaps in the Senate Tom Coburn.
Jeb. Of course I agree with your suggestion concerning reversing course, increasing taxes where necessary, but raising taxes while raising spending isn’t the answer; raising taxes in order to cut (and ultimately eliminate) deficits is the only tax raising I’ll support.
Anyway… to end…
Midcon writes, “Obama’s ideas may be bad but when they are the only ideas on the table what choice do the people have?”
Midcon. We have the choice – the duty – to reject BAD ideas and bad policies. Period.
I’m with you that BETTER ideas – GOOD ideas – are the goal… but in the meantime opposing bad ideas is a far better alternative than supporting them just to be able to say “at least we’re doing something.”
BILL
4 ottovbvs // Jun 19, 2009 at 6:03 am
These “issue” polls, most of which btw still show majorities, albeit small ones, for Obama’s postions, are fairly worthless either because the questions are loaded or because those being polled either don’t understand the issue or are unfocussed on it. But since Mr Golinkin resides such faith in the them I have to direct him to the broader questions of approval for the president and the Republicans which are much more reliable as a guide to public sentiment. The WSJ poll showed some slippage in Obama’s support but two other major polls published at the same time didn’t. What all three did show were continuing abysmal numbers for the Republicans. The public basically trusts Obama, he still has his 30% margin, has some concerns about his policies but completely distrusts and despises the Republican party. Now Mr Golinkin may take some comfort from all this but one would have to wonder why.
5 Commie Stooge // Jun 19, 2009 at 6:42 am
During the election, there were a lot of parallels made between Obama & FDR.
By the time FDR took office; the Depression had lasted three years. Unemployment was 25%; cities were bankrupt; banks were closing; and the treatment of the Bonus Army in DC was the last straw.
The American people wanted a change.
In contrast, the present financial emergency hasn’t really affected you unless you’ve lost your job or your house.
The restaurants & malls are full again.
People’s memories are very short indeed; never mind the fact the entire financial system could have collapsed last Sept.
Unlike 1932; now we have talk radio; the net; and the 24 hour news cycle.
People expect immediate changes, instant gratification, etc.
When I said recently that I was going to wait 2 more years to replace my 1999 Neon; they said “Why wait?”
The idea of saving up; of waiting; is foreign these days.
You can use Credit Cards at McDonald’s – or the liquor store.
So why wait?
6 sinz54 // Jun 19, 2009 at 7:25 am
ottovbvs:
I’m getting sick and tired of your “Obama bestrides the world like a Colossus” theme and your “Give up, Republicans, it’s hopeless” theme. Your daily orgasms over Obama are becoming embarrassing for all of us.
In June 1965, 7 months after LBJ’s landslide victory, the polls showed the same thing: LBJ was popular while the GOP (which had been led by Goldwater) was unpopular.
But as you know, things looked very different just two or three years later.
I agree with you about one thing: Popularity polls and horse race polls are worthless, so long before an election. The public can change its mind based on *issues*. Step One for the GOP is to figure out just what the public cares about, and what their concerns are with the current Administration. Then they can devise policies and strategies to capitalize on those.
7 sinz54 // Jun 19, 2009 at 7:35 am
midcon sez: “Many of us, including you, have been nearly screaming for the GOP to say something other than No.”
American history is NOT on your side here.
Americans don’t switch parties just because the challenger party seems to have a somewhat better idea than the incumbent party. Rather, they stick with the incumbent unless and until the incumbent screws up.
I hate to admit it, but the GOP is right about what they’re doing: Hammer away at Obama’s weak points (the soaring deficit and government spending, which polls show is a real concern to Americans), and wait until the public sours on the Administration. Then the GOP can propose a positive alternative.
If the public doesn’t sour on the Obama administration and the Dem Party, then it doesn’t matter if the GOP has America’s best proposals ever. The public will say “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”–and stick with the Dems.
The GOP can only win if and only if the Dems are not winning.
8 barker13 // Jun 19, 2009 at 8:13 am
Re: Ottovbvs; 6:03 AM –
“These “issue” polls…are fairly worthless either because the questions are loaded or because those being polled either don’t understand the issue or are unfocused on it.”
(*SHRUG*) Hey… when he’s right, he’s right.
(Score one for Otto!) (*GRIN*)
“The public basically trusts Obama…”
No. I don’t think so, Otto. Obviously those who are “anti-Obama” don’t trust him; speculatively those who voted for someone other than Obama last November don’t “basically trust him.”
(*SHRUG*) (Right…???)
Just as obviously his base still “trusts” him. Partisan democrats trust him (If he fired HRC for whatever reason that would change. Not that I’m saying he’d do this… I’m just making a point by posing a scenario.)
It’s those who voted for Obama reluctantly (the lesser of two evils…) and to a lesser extent those who voted for McCain reluctantly (but not because they thought McCain was too liberal, rather, because they thought McCain would simply be Bush II) who slowly but surely are losing faith in Obama and the Dems.
Re: Commie Stooge; 6:42 AM –
“…the present financial emergency hasn’t really affected you unless you’ve lost your job or your house.”
A simplistic reading… (not yours, CS, the public’s)… but a great deal of truth to it nevertheless.
Folks near retirement age who lost a lot of money in the markets – whose IRA’s and other retirement funding vehicles took huge hits – these folks would no doubt disagree with the thesis they’ve been “unaffected,” and of course I could point to other examples, but yeah… I recognize your overall point and agree with it.
“The restaurants & malls are full again.”
Nope. It’s better than it was… but, no, we’re nowhere close to recovery. Employment continues to fall in absolute terms month by month. (And no doubt you’re aware of how “good news” is often skewed by flawed methodology in government statistical constructions – i.e. the assumption that when you’ve run out of unemployment insurance and no longer collecting the government stats “assume” you’re no longer unemployed.
(And let’s not even try to figure out the true underemployment stats…) (*SIGH*)
Anyway… (*SMILE*)… back to the “parallels made between Obama & FDR,” raise your hand if you can hardly wait for WW-3 to serve as a vehicle for full employment and getting us out of recession?
(*SNORT*) (*CHUCKLE*) (Ya see my point… right?)
BILL
9 barker13 // Jun 19, 2009 at 8:15 am
Re: Sinz54; wrote 37 minutes ago –
To echo an earlier comment…
When Sinz is right… she’s right.
(*SHRUG*)
BILL
10 Bulldoglover100 // Jun 19, 2009 at 9:16 am
Sad part of all of this is the Republicans once again fell lower in favor in those same polls so while Obama may be hurting a tad bit? We are still circling the drain.
Instead of being happy that he fell..what? 1 or 2 points? We should be focused on how to fix this party and stop looking for headlines that we think gives us positive attention.
11 KL7212 // Jun 19, 2009 at 2:47 pm
“I hate to admit it, but the GOP is right about what they’re doing: Hammer away at Obama’s weak points (the soaring deficit and government spending, which polls show is a real concern to Americans), and wait until the public sours on the Administration. Then the GOP can propose a positive alternative.”
Well, Ronald Reagan’s agenda and policies weren’t nearly as popular as Reagan himself. How well did that work for opposition Democrats?
Sinz, there are a few problems with your scenario.
1.) The GOP is deeply unpopular with the American people.
2.) The GOP has little to no credibility with the public on the issue of spending.
3.) The public largely blames the GOP for the mess in which we find ourselves.
It’s hard for the leaders of the Republican Party to propose a “positive” alternative when they don’t have one. And as long as the “jobs” issue remains the paramount concern of most people, the Republicans will be unable to gain any traction (see no. 3).
Correct me if I’m wrong, but you seem to be assuming that the Republicans can somehow regain control of the narrative and that the other side isn’t capable of fighting back.
The Party, the Republican Party, that is, is in a deep hole.
12 KL7212 // Jun 19, 2009 at 2:49 pm
“That said, unless Republicans get serious about reigning in spending right now, they will not be able to capitalize on this issue going forward. To credibly argue that the Obama administration is irresponsible for running up the deficits, the GOP will have to stop being the party of the supply sider and go back to being the party of the deficit hawk. Read my lips: new taxes..for everyone will be politically painful in the short term, but Republican outrage over public spending is going to fall on deaf ears until the party backs up its words with actions.”
Excellent point, Jeb.
13 sinz54 // Jun 21, 2009 at 6:56 am
KL7212: We have a two-party system. Historically, voters decide to go with the opposition party only when the incumbent party is becoming discredited. When the Dems screw up, the Republicans *automatically* start to look like a decent alternative; and vice versa.
As long as Obama remains popular, the GOP can’t win no matter what it says or does. The opposition party has no chance to win against a President with an approval rating of 60%. It has to wait for him to screw up on something–like the exploding deficits, or stagflation which may flare up later in his administration, or something else. Or it has to wait for the public to grow impatient with continuing high unemployment.
14 ottovbvs // Jun 21, 2009 at 9:07 am
barker13
6/19/2009
8:13 AM
“No. I don’t think so, Otto. Obviously those who are “anti-Obama” don’t trust him; speculatively those who voted for someone other than Obama last November don’t “basically trust him.”
……….His approval ratings remain at 60% plus….He got 53% of the vote last November……His approval “gap” is 30% over the Republicans who enjoy their worst ever approval ratings of 25-30%. Nit pick all you like barker the country by massive majorities trusts this guy.
15 ChristianMiller // Jun 22, 2009 at 4:16 am
sinz,
Reading your posts it looks like you are coming around a little and taking a somewhat harder line. That is what the left will teach you. otto and others are despicable in their methods and anyone familiar with facts and logic begins to see through them pretty quickly. Once you start to see this, the methodology translates across the board and the tactics are exposed. Then we begin to see how it doesn’t really matter what WE do as they will say the same thing regardless, making up lies, exaggerating and creating false links. Thanks otto for being yourself!
16 sinz54 // Jun 22, 2009 at 10:29 am
Franco:
On issues of domestic tranquillity, national defense, Islamist terrorism, gun rights, the preservation of Western civliization–I’ve *always* been right-wing. Surprise!
But you notice: New Majority rarely posts articles on those topics. Instead, they spend their time on abortion, gay rights, and the economy, where I’m not as right-wing.
(I blame those investment brokers for leveraging themselves 40 to 1 with America’s hard-earned wealth as their down payment. And then dragging us down the chute with them.)
This has given folks here (like you) a FALSE picture of my politics.
If you only asked Rudy Giuliani about abortion and how nice New York City is and nothing else, you would conclude he’s a liberal too! Only if you talked to him about crime or terrorism or taxes would you get a different picture.
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