President Barrack Obama has reached a new low in popularity with the American people, according to an ABC News/Washington Post survey taken in early July. In the poll, 60% of voters polled expressed a lack of faith that the President was making the correct decisions for the nation. Voters voiced disapproval of the Obama agenda on nearly every issue put to them by the poll.
They disapproved of Mr Obama’s handling of the economy by a 54-43% margin. Similar numbers were true for Mr. Obama’s handling of Health Care (50-54%), the budget deficit (56-40%), and financial regulatory reform (50-44%). Only in one area did the voters polled support the president’s actions by a majority. They approved of his handling of the President’s position as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces by a margin of 55-44%, apparently in response to his firing General McCrystal, the former commander of forces in Afghanistan.
President Obama’s overall popularity has dropped to 50% of voter approval, which reflects a continuing decline since his popularity peaked in April, 2009, several months after his inauguration. His approval at that time was a stratospheric 69%, but has fallen every month since that time.
Mr Obama’s popularity remains considerably higher than his predecessor in the White House at the end of his second term. George Bush was hovering in the 30% approval level when he left office. But there is a remarkable difference in the approval ratings for the two presidents. President Bush finished his second term at the 30% approval level after nearly eight years of unrelenting criticism from a merciless adversarial press. Mr Obama, on the other hand, has fallen to his current level of popularity despite the shameless, adoring coverage of the mainstream media since arriving at the White House.
After a short respite following the terror attack of September 11, 2001, the media returned to the incessant drumbeat of criticism of Mr. Bush on his Iraq policy, attempted reform of Social Security, tax cuts for the “wealthy,” and even included fraudulent attacks on Mr Bush’s National Guard service by CBS anchor Dan Rather just prior to the 2004 Presidential Election. Coverage of the war in Iraq included regular mention of the number of Americans killed and injured in an effort to diminish popular support. Their attacks on Mr Bush included continued references to a faltering economy during the entire Bush presidency, despite the fact that the nation enjoyed an economic boom for much of Bush’s terms, including the addition of 2.7 million jobs directly attributed to the Bush tax cuts.
News conferences with Mr Bush featured barbed questions from hostile reporters. ABC News “reporter” Terry Moran has said of the White House Press Room, “In that room, one of the things a questioner has to do is create a moment, a confrontation with the President,” Moran explained. “The point is to get them to answer questions, not just stand up there and use all the majesty of the Presidency to amplify his image.”
And yet majesty was all many reporters could see when referring to Mr Obama. The same Terry Moran from ABC News, who favored confrontation with Mr Bush, gushed his adoration for the newly inaugurated President Obama, saying “Barack Obama is the first President since George Washington to be taking a step down into the Oval Office.” Evan Thomas, of soon-to-be bankrupt Newsweek, was similarly impressed, and said, “In a way, Obama is standing above the country, above the world. He's sort of God." ABC News assumed a non-confrontational approach with respect to the new president, when reporter Bill Weir had the following comment on Mr Obama’s inauguration, "Never have so many people shivered so long with such joy. From above, even the seagulls must have been awed by the blanket of humanity." I am sure they were awed, if not by the majesty of President Obama, then by the utter lack of integrity of the mainstream media.
News conferences with Mr Bush featured barbed questions from hostile reporters. ABC News “reporter” Terry Moran has said of the White House Press Room, “In that room, one of the things a questioner has to do is create a moment, a confrontation with the President,” Moran explained. “The point is to get them to answer questions, not just stand up there and use all the majesty of the Presidency to amplify his image.”
And yet majesty was all many reporters could see when referring to Mr Obama. The same Terry Moran from ABC News, who favored confrontation with Mr Bush, gushed his adoration for the newly inaugurated President Obama, saying “Barack Obama is the first President since George Washington to be taking a step down into the Oval Office.” Evan Thomas, of soon-to-be bankrupt Newsweek, was similarly impressed, and said, “In a way, Obama is standing above the country, above the world. He's sort of God." ABC News assumed a non-confrontational approach with respect to the new president, when reporter Bill Weir had the following comment on Mr Obama’s inauguration, "Never have so many people shivered so long with such joy. From above, even the seagulls must have been awed by the blanket of humanity." I am sure they were awed, if not by the majesty of President Obama, then by the utter lack of integrity of the mainstream media.
George Bush endured two complete terms of constant adversarial press coverage, to which he refused to respond. He believed that responding to those shameless attacks was beneath the dignity of the office he held. Mr Obama, on the other hand, has enjoyed the fawning support of a corrupt media while instituting policies that expand government power while recklessly spending money he does not have. His popular support is falling with every move he makes. Even the desperate support from a derelict and incompetent media are not enough to prop up the failing second term of the Carter Administration. The question is: How long will Mr Obama's popularity remain at 50% approval if his dupes and toadies in the media actually begin to do their jobs?
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