The article was written by Douglas Schoen, formerly a pollster for President Bill Clinton and by Scott Rasmussen, who is the president of Rasmussen Reports, an independent national polling company.
It is simply wrong for commentators to continue to focus on President Barack Obama's high levels of popularity, and to conclude that these are indicative of high levels of public confidence in the work of his administration. Indeed, a detailed look at recent survey data shows that the opposite is most likely true. The American people are coming to express increasingly significant doubts about his initiatives, and most likely support a different agenda and different policies from those that the Obama administration has advanced.
Polling data show that Mr. Obama's approval rating is dropping and is below where George W. Bush was in an analogous period in 2001. Rasmussen Reports data shows that Mr. Obama's net presidential approval rating -- which is calculated by subtracting the number who strongly disapprove from the number who strongly approve -- is just six, his lowest rating to date.
Overall, Rasmussen Reports shows a 56%-43% approval, with a third strongly disapproving of the president's performance. This is a substantial degree of polarization so early in the administration. Mr. Obama has lost virtually all of his Republican support and a good part of his Independent support, and the trend is decidedly negative.
A detailed examination of presidential popularity after 50 days on the job similarly demonstrates a substantial drop in presidential approval relative to other elected presidents in the 20th and 21st centuries....
You can read the rest here for the reasoning behind this freefall of Obama's.
The article doesn't only use polling numbers from Rasmussen, but they also refer to recent Gallup polls, another independent polling organization, not affiliated with the "media polls" we always see unless they are specifically asked to run a poll in conjunction with a particular news group.
Recent Gallup data echo these concerns. That polling shows that there are deep-seeded, underlying economic concerns. Eighty-three percent say they are worried that the steps Mr. Obama is taking to fix the economy may not work and the economy will get worse. Eighty-two percent say they are worried about the amount of money being added to the deficit. Seventy-eight percent are worried about inflation growing, and 69% say they are worried about the increasing role of the government in the U.S. economy.
When Gallup asked whether we should be spending more or less in the economic stimulus, by close to 3-to-1 margin voters said it is better to have spent less than to have spent more. When asked whether we are adding too much to the deficit or spending too little to improve the economy, by close to a 3-to-2 margin voters said that we are adding too much to the deficit.
As the article concludes, public confidence in Barack Obama is low and continues to drop. He has lost all Republican support and the majority of Independent support already.
It isn't helping Barack Obama that a $800 billion stimulus bill and a $410 billion spending omnibus bill were just passed and signed and what is his comment?
Confronting misgivings, even in his own party, President Barack Obama mounted a stout defense of his blueprint to overhaul the economy Thursday, declaring the national crisis is "not as bad as we think" and his plans will speed recovery.
If it isn't as bad as people have been howling about, then why $800 billion tax payer dollars to fix it?
In fact, huge hat tip to Gateway Pundit, saying right now that things are not "so bad" is a direct contradiction to everything he said to get his massive $800 billion proposal passed in the House and Senate.
YouTube URL for video below found here.
Is it any wonder public confidence in Barack Obama is eroding?
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