Why is Barack Obama so unpopular currently according to the polls and media reports ?
He’s ‘celebrating’ his anniversary – or should be but the Health bill has an unsure future and all the news reports are saying that he is even more unpopular than Bush ! How can that be since his election victory ?
Did Americans ‘do the right thing’ by voting for a black man but are now not willing to stand by him because their personal healthcare provisions might change?
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sad but true…. hes still a puppet
I think people hoped he would change things faster and differently. When you don’t fulfill people get disappointed.
Its unrealistic to expect huge change in just one year. The machinery of government doesn’t allow for things to happen fast – it is designed to make sure items are considered before they become legislation.
It’s a shock to me and not very encouraging that people in America appear to have turned on him so quickly.
Americans want everything, immediately. And now Obama, predictably, has turned out to not be, to paraphrase The Daily Show, the magic negro they expected him to be.
And then there is of course the demagogery from the right wing propagandists to which humans are very susceptible.
“the Magic Negro they expected” What is THAT all about ? !! Is it a quote ?
Well, he has a fifty percent approval rating right now. I wouldn’t call that unpopular.
@johnpowell good way of looking at it- the glass is half full (not half empty)
@ragingloli
Thanks for the link – pretty funny.
I see how hopes may be just a little dashed.
I’m totally in agreement with thiswoman. I’m sure there have been many things Obama could have done better over the past year, but as I’ve said in earlier threads on this subject, I like that at least he’s trying to do what he promised—make changes. He’s working to change our tattered image abroad. He’s working to change the healthcare system. He’s working to get us out of Iraq. And as *thiswoman” said, a year much time for a new president—an inexperienced president—to make big changes. We (including the media) are so quick to create “heroes,” and so much quicker to destroy them. I’ve often thought that if any one of us had to be president for a day or two, we’d come away with a new respect for the job.
Because the way he sounded during the election made him seem like the messiah himself. Everybody thought he was going to magically pull this country into a golden age of economic growth overnight. When we realized that the job situation is still dire, and our debt situation is out of control it made us think twice about the job he’s doing and if hes effective as leader of the free world. The money situation is a huge concern and he could literally bankrupt this country over the next 7 years if he is reelected.
But Tenpinmaster, aren’t we smart enough by now to know there aren’t any messiahs who run for president… only human beings?
@Austinlad No we aren’t apparently =\ I remember watching this news program and people literally thought that they wouldn’t have to pay any more bills if Obama was put into office. I mean, wow! Unfortunately, a good majority of the population is still very in the dark about what is going on in the world and even in our own country
I expected him to actually DO something, he hasn’t. I still support him, but I’m not so blind that I can’t see he isn’t getting anything done. I got a petition yesterday from Joe Bidden asking me to support Obama and Bidden in their efforts to get the bail out money back from the banks. I wrote him saying, you and Obama gave away that money without any input from me so I think you can get it back the same way. I also mentioned I had health insurance that was so expensive I could barley afford it and the coverage was so shitty I get to choose between bankrupting my family or suffer the pain I’m in. My percentage of the operation I need is so costly I’d have to wipe out a ¼ of the savings I’ve managed to scrape together and I’m pretty sure if I bankrupt my family I’ll be labeled a failure and no one will bail me out. I also got an email telling me it’s my moral obligation to help the people of Haiti with a cash donation. I don’t disagree, but I drive by the food bank in our area everyday and I see the huge ever increasing number of people waiting in line for a cup of soup and a bologna sandwich. Over half of them get turned away. There is no food on the food bank shelves. Charity for this girl begins a little closer to home. I donated food, water and blankets and I was told they wanted cash for the people of Haiti. You take what people have to give and if that isn’t good enough you stuff it in your buttocks. The food bank was very grateful for the donations and they didn’t make one sarcastic crack about it being my moral obligation to give CASH.
@Tenpinmaster has it right. It’s the economy. It hasn’t come back fast enough. If things pick up speed before the next election, he’ll look like a genius. All people care about is their own pocketbooks. They think health reform and bank reform and Afghanistan are taking money out of their pockets and they don’t see anything going back in. Recessions are a bad time to try to get serious reform.
If the economy picks up, Obama will be golden again, and will be able to accomplish something. If not, he’s a one-term president.
@wundayatta Well I hope he knows what he’s doing. I mean, WHO in the world can pay back 12 trillion dollars? I wonder what would happen if China decided to call in all of our loans that we have made. Yikes…
Ummm, he has mid to upper 50% range of popularity in recent polls, higher than any of the last 4 presidents at this point in their presidencies.
It’s the Democratic party that has seen popularity drop into the low 40’s (But keep in mind, the republican party is in the upper 20’s atm).
@Tenpinmaster Actually that’s a common misconception. Europe owns the large majority of our debt. China has merely had the largest increase in the last decade, but it’s still firmly Europes.
And they’re not going to call it in because it would ruin our economy, which would cause a ripple effect that would ruin theirs (we buy the majority of the crap they make)... and also then they wouldn’t be able to collect the billions in interest.
“Did Americans ‘do the right thing’ by voting for a black man”? What kind of question is this? Do you think that people voted for him just because he is black? Are you asking if having a black man as the president is a bad thing?
I did not vote for Obama because her is black. Obama being black has nothing to do with the fact that he is a corporate whore and only interested in preserving the institutions that have broken this country. White men perfected it, Obama is just continuing the nightmare.
@westy81585 Well thank you for clearing that up. I had no idea that Europe was our major debt holder. I am just wondering if we can truly have another great economic rise with the massive debt hanging over our heads. Sorry.. kinda off topic. Plus I think his rating is a lot lower because he’s trying to play the moderate.. The guy is a liberal, he needs to act like a liberal and since we americans voted him in.. instead of trying to please everybody just be the liberal that he is and do whatever it is he wanted to do in the elections.
@Tenpinmaster Well, at least we don’t have to worry about China calling our loans. They would fall with us if they did.
12 Trillion? Hmmm. Our annual GDP is around 14 trillion and our gross household wealth is around 60 trillion. I mean, amortize that over 30 years, and the payments should be pretty easy. Even if we get foreclosed on, what are the Chinese going to do? Ship over a lot of people and throw us into the streets?
I suppose they could. But I doubt we’d let them. Unless they do it the old fashioned way—slow infiltration.
From an outsider looking in, i’m English by the way. Apparently his approval rating is down 18pts since his inaugeration. They could only go one way seeing as though his rating then was astronomicaly high. Maybe it’s as a result of way too much was expected of him.He patently never was the miracle worker some saw him as,who is? He did also become president at a lousy time, both economicaly & militarily. Overall he’s probably done no worse than the hand he was dealt with allowed him too.
Because despite overwhelming democratic support in both the Senate and House, he hasn’t managed to do much of anything.
why the fuck does him being black have anything to do with anything!!! im so fucking sick of white people, spanish people, asian, people everybody but black people making such a big deal about the color of that mans skin!!! fuck all you hurt sorry motherfuckers! ( if don’t apply let it fly )
@life_after_2012 Ummm, please don’t paint us all with such a broad brush. What the fuck does me being white have to do with anything? Huh? And saying “if it don’t apply let it fly” doesn’t get you off the hook.
If you have a criticism or an argument with someone, then do the right thing and address it to that person. Also, use some good arguments when you address that person. There’s no need to be impolite. Indeed, if you want to be taken seriously, there is every need to be polite!
@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities Well in fairness having a 60 seat supermajority is useless when 5–10 of those senators won’t go along with what you want to do… and you need ALL 60 of them in order to beat a Republican fillibuster.
He’s actually done quite well with the house majority.
@westy81585 I can’t stand George W. Bush, but he did know how to get things done (even though most of them were terrible decisions). He never had the numbers (in the senate and house) that Obama currently has, but still managed to pass bills and legislation. That we are still debating the health care bill with a democratic majority in the House and Senate is an utter failure in my opinion.
This sums up my feelings about the failings of the democratic party. Skip to 06:33.
@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities He managed to get things done because he wasn’t afraid to use reconciliation and not take into consideration anything the Dems said.
@westy81585 That is true, and I don’t approve of the way he did things, nor would I want Obama to act in that way. But Obama does need to grow some balls and do something, instead of being walked all over by a Republican minority (this goes for all Dems). It is ridiculous how little has been done, with so much support.
Anyways, those are my feelings on the matter, I really wish him the best of luck in the future.
@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities Agreed whole heartedly. I actually hope he does use reconciliation. A simple majority should be enough to pass legislation. This super majority stuff is stupid….. Or maybe even just lower the supermajority to like 55 or something.
But it looks like he’s coming around and playing hard ball with the banking reform at least. Maybe he’ll revisit healthcare later (I hope).
@tinyfaery lurve for being totally pissed off at everybody. I adore you.
@life_after_2012 lurve for you, same reason. God I’m sick of people who have their heads up their asses telling other people to be polite.
I will admit that I don’t keep very informed when it comes to Obama. Most of what I know is from what my fiancé tells me. What I do know is that health insurance has gone to shit. And in assuming the president has something to do with it. My fiance’s employer had good health insurance coverage up until last week. They had to switch over to a more affordable plan because the one they had became too expensive to afford. Everyone is pretty upset about it. And from what I hear, they may still have to downgrade. This is a huge worry for us and our future kids. They need decent coverage and their current plan is crap. It’s all very frustrating.
From @westy81585: “Well in fairness having a 60 seat supermajority is useless when 5–10 of those senators won’t go along with what you want to do… and you need ALL 60 of them in order to beat a Republican fillibuster.”
Let’s think about why all 60 Democratic senators don’t hew to the party line.
COULD IT BE? that some of them are bought by corporate interests, just like some Republican senators?
Why could it not be?
There are many forces at work here, it’s not just black and white – er, sorry, A and B.
@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities
My father commented once that that was one of the marks of a leader: the ability to get people to do things. In that respect, he was a much better leader than ol’ Barry.
Because like most political figures, he says one thing but once he’s elected, it changes.
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