President Obama’s high-handedness is causing the public to backhand him in recent polls.

A national uproar has followed the president’s declaration last Friday that he supports a Muslim group’s right to build a mosque and a $100-million community center two blocks from Ground Zero, where about 2,600 civilians died in the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. A Fox News poll also released on August 13 found that "61 percent of voters think the Muslim group has the right to build a mosque in lower Manhattan. However, 64 percent think it would be wrong to put a mosque there.”

This fits a pattern of Obama’s sliding polls. Several of the president’s high-handed policies conflict with majority public opinion.

• In a Quinnipiac University poll 65% of registered voters think that “President Obama’s policies” have either “hurt the economy or haven’t made a difference.” An overwhelming 84% say they think “President Obama’s policies have either “hurt or haven’t made a difference” in their “personal financial situation.”

• In a Pew Research/National Journal poll of adults nationwide, 57% said they think “the economic stimulus” has failed to keep “unemployment from getting even worse” and 66% think “the economic stimulus” has “increased the federal budget deficit.”

• In a Time magazine poll of adults nationwide, 53% said that the economy would be “better off if the government had not spent…additional money on the stimulus program” and 67% “oppose additional government spending for a second stimulus package.”

• In a CBS poll 52% of Americans believe that “Barack Obama has been spending too little time trying to fix the nation’s economy and create jobs.”

• On the issue that the president has arguably spent the most time on during his presidency—pushing through health care reform—a Rasmussen national telephone survey found that, “57% of likely U.S. voters say the recently passed health care law will be bad for the country.

That’s the highest level of pessimism measured since regular tracking began following Congress' passage of the law in late March,” and “59% of all voters now favor repeal of the health care bill.”

• Just before passage of the president’s second major legislative initiative—his financial regulation overhaul—an Associated Press-GfK Poll determined that “64 percent of those surveyed aren't confident that a financial regulation overhaul…will avert another meltdown.”

• A Rasmussen national telephone survey found that, “Voters by a two-to-one margin oppose[d] the U.S. Justice Department’s decision to challenge the legality of Arizona’s new immigration law in federal court.”

Just after a U.S. district court judge (a Clinton appointee) struck down sections of that Arizona law, 59% of those surveyed told Rasmussen that they, “favor passage of an Arizona-like immigration law in their state.”

• In a USA TODAY/Gallup poll, “Support for Obama's management of the [Afghanistan] war fell to 36%, down from 48% in a February poll. Now, a record 43% also say it was a mistake to go to war there after the terrorist attacks in 2001.”

• The same poll also found that, “Even Obama's handling of the war in Iraq received record-low approval, despite a drawdown of 90,000 troops and the planned, on-schedule end of U.S. combat operations there this month.” And, “Only 41% of those surveyed…approved of the way Obama is handling his job, his lowest rating in the USA Today/Gallup Poll since he took office in January 2009.”

The president’s high-handedness on many other issues shows him ignoring or defying public opinion. Here’s a partial list:

• His pledge to shut down the prison at the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

• His big government agenda—out of control spending, debt, and deficits.

• His under the table and over the top “deal making” in Congress (i.e. vote buying) to pass legislation.

• His turning toxic companies like AIG and toxic “government-sponsored enterprises” like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into virtual wards of the state—eating up billions in taxpayer money each month.

• His showering of taxpayer money and special favors on special interests (particularly unions).

Even in a poll by Democracy Corps—the firm run by Democratic strategists James Carville and Stan Greenberg—56% of likely voters said that “liberal” describes Barack Obama “very well or well” and 55% said the same about labeling Obama a “socialist.”

One of Obama’s heroes, President Abraham Lincoln, said, “With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed.”

For President Obama, playing high-handed with the public is playing a losing hand.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/08/17/jon-kraushar-obama-ground-zero-mosque-carville-fannie-freddie-congress/

It's "we the people" not "I the president"

its we the people, and the executive, legislative, and judicial branches,,,,,to be honest


polls can show about anything people want them to

Obama's going down quicker then Monika Lewinski.

time will tell,,,,

And he's leaving more stains.

The whole world is watching how he is stopping Immigration Laws from being enforced.

How he's signing Laws and MSM won't include Bill numbers. (New security Law) Can't find one number to be able to read the bill. Bet it's loaded with pig.

Twice, he's said troops are headed to the border. DUH, where'd they go?

I certainly hope the investigations will see he is a criminal.

We don't need to be providing lifetime welfare for the likes of him and his material gal.

If he wants to save himself from a humiliating lame duck situation he needs to start by firing the economic advisers that aren't already jumping off the sinking ship..

They have been an utter failure and there is no doubt that their policies have lead to a worsening of the economy. This BS about keeping us out of a depression is nonsense and they know it. Less than a trillion in stimulus is nothing compared to what the federal reserve shelled out to prop up their cronies running the investment banks. This was a bailout by the Fed to cover their *** because their interest rate manipulation lead to a massive expansion of credit. That was the last thing a consumption based economy needs.

Keep supporting this idiotic spending/debt expansion and see where we end up..

Time will certainly tell and it won't be much longer..

Depression is subjective.

It's not all that serious.

Its not all that serious,,,


we agree , during different points in history...lol

it could have been VERY serious, I believe

but we will never know , because it didnt go there

and some will assert their surety that it would have been beter
and some will assert their surety that it would have been worse

but all we have is where we are now and I really dont think its that serious,,,lol

What scares me we have intelligence showing MS13 in in contact with AQ and been contracted to get Militants across the border.

It didn't get there? Tell it to the millions of people out of work who are about to get their unemployment cut. Tell it to the millions of businesses that have gone out of business. Tell it to the families living in shelters.

Your right, it's not that serious.

its all subjective

we arent in depression, it didnt go THERE


we have survived several recssions,,,this will be no different

The correct descriptor for 'The UN' is ...


ONE-TERM FAILURE!

your hoping, Im hoping not


time will tell

Hell, he's polling worse the Carter did, that's gotta tell you something. November 2012, bye, bye Obama!

not necessarily

IN August 1982, Reagans approval was at 41 percent
he was reelected in 1984

IN August 1994, Clintons approval was at 43 percent approval
he was reelected in 1996

In August 2010, OBamas approval is is at 44 percent
he isnt out of running for reelection

(poll numbers are from the gallup site)

Umm Obama is polling at 41% now. The majority of his issues the poles show dissaproval up in the 80's on some issues.

according to GALLUP poll website, not quite

'President Obama is facing his lowest job approval ratings yet. His 44% average for the week of Aug. 9-15 and latest three-day approval average of 42% are both the lowest of his presidency to date.'

no need to quibble over one or two poll points, the point still stands that this rating doesnt automatically take hom out of the final race,,,,

I hope you were being sarcastic..

I get the die hard love for Obama, but at some point reality has to set in..

oh its bad, but its not so bad as to end the world, or have people dying before they can vote, or have a communist take over, or some of the other preposterous paranoia spouted in these threads