So-Called DC Elites And Obama Don't Have A Clue

The Politico reports their findings of the latest Power and the People poll and find that once again what they call DC elite are completely disconnected from the reality of what American voters as a whole believe.

Looking back at other polling done, before the November midterms, shows DC elites haven't got a clue and that elections are more apt to verify what the country's voters believe and completely ravage what DC elites believe.

Lets start with the most recent, then we will show previous examples.

The big disconnect: D.C. elites think Obama will be reelected, but the public doubts it

The midterms not only dealt a big shock to Democrats but also sent a message to President Barack Obama. According to the new POLITICO Power and the People poll, only 26 percent of the public believes he will be reelected as president in 2012.

This difference in expectations could mislead the president if he is listening to the Beltway chatter — right here in D.C., he may just find a lot of comfort in this assessment by insiders, and that may lead to actions that don’t fully adjust for the sea change that has occurred among the general public. (See also Poll: D.C. Sees Midterms Differently)

This big difference can partially be explained by the different ways that the two groups see the economy and the world today. Seventy percent of D.C. elites admit that they have been affected less than the average citizen when it comes to the economic downturn. The elites see the tea party as purely a fad (70 percent). In contrast, those who say that the president will not be reelected see the country as headed in the wrong direction by 82 percent, see the economy as headed in the wrong direction by 81 percent and overwhelmingly want repeal of the health care law at the top of the agenda. The quarter of the public who consider Obama's reelection probable see the economy turning around by nearly 3-to-1. They are the outliers of the electorate, suggesting that the president has a lot more work to do to get back on track for a second term.

Flashback to before the midterms when The Politico polled DC elites and compared their results to polls of the general public and found them to be a" world apart" from each other.

Only 27 percent believe the country is headed in the right direction, compared with 61 percent who think the nation is on the wrong track. Likewise, when asked whether the national economy is heading down the right or wrong track, just 24 percent chose the right track, compared with65 percent for the wrong track.

Yet among the 227 Washington elites polled, more think the country is on the right track, 49 percent, than the wrong track, 45 percent. On the economy, 44 percent of elites think the country is on the right track, compared with 46 percent who believe it is not.

To qualify as a Washington elite for the poll, respondents must live within the D.C. metro area, earn more than $75,000 per year, have at least a college degree and be involved in the political process or work on key political issues or policy decisions.

By now everyone knows how the midterms played out, with Republicans winning 60 (maybe more when all is said and done) House seats , 6 net Senate seats and hundreds upon hundreds state legislative seats.

Exactly how disconnected are the DC elites from the general populace?

Looking at polling conducted, from a variety of organizations before the midterms, at the time of the poll quoted above, we see that the the majority, in every polls conducted, saw the country as being on the wrong track and headed the wrong direction.

July polls on the topic include;

Bloomberg- 63 percent believed the country was heading in the wrong direction with only 31 percent believing it was headed in the right direction.

Time- 56 percent believed the country was heading in the wrong direction with only 39 percent believing it was headed in the right direction.

Rasmussen- 67 percent believed the country was heading in the wrong direction with only 27 percent believing it was headed in the right direction.

Reuters/Ipsos- 60 percent believed the country was heading in the wrong direction with only 34 percent believing it was headed in the right direction.

Democracy Corps (D)- 64 percent believed the country was heading in the wrong direction with only 29 percent believing it was headed in the right direction

DC elites haven't got a clue and I am not sure why any polling organization bothers polling them at all unless it is to show exactly how disconnected from reality those who work and live in DC actually are.

If that is the case, it is no wonder Barack Obama sees things so very differently than the majority of Americans and why most believe he just didn't get the message on November 2, 2010.

Barack Obama also stated before midterms, in September "“My goal here is not to convince you that everything is where it needs to be, but what I am saying is that we are moving in the right direction."

Goes to show that Obama, like the DC elite is completely disconnected from reality.

Obama's "messaging" after the midterm shellacking his party suffered shows that he still is just as disconnected as he was before the elections. For him to claim he had a messaging problem instead of admitted it was his policies and his agenda that was being rejected so overwhelmingly by the voters, shows why Barack Obama shoujld only be a one term president.

It will take decades to undo the harm Obama has done to America after that.

(Addition information was added to this post)