Snapshot comparison of polls, median wealth, and enthusiasm
Politics can cause people to become so fickle. In January and February 2009 President Obama had approval ratings in the mid- to low 60′s. Today President Obama’s approval rating is below 50% in all the major polls since May 3rd, following a trend of almost universal low approval ratings going back to December 8, 2011.
Out of 75 polls in that time, just 12 of the polls had President Obama at or above 50% – the highest was 53% approval once for Politico on February 19th, and once for Associated Press on May 3rd. In those 12 polls only 3 organizations had President Obama at or above 50% twice – CNN on February 8th and March 24th, ABC on February 1st and April 5th, and Reuters on March 8th and May 3rd. The lowest approval rating was by CBS, with 41% on March 7th.
Pres. Obama at SOTU
As bad as the US approval may be, especially with the 2012 Presidential election approaching, the global view of the US under the Obama Administration is faring just as poorly as the Obama Administration tries to gain a coalition to deal with Syria. Britain, France, Germany and Spain all see China as the dominant world economy. Something that surely was not helped by the downgrade of the US creditworthiness – a first for the nation – just a year ago. For the first time the majority of the 14 nations surveyed by Pew Research Center found 41% overall stating China is the global economic power.
Germany, Russia, Japan have each had nearly 20% drops in the confidence of President Obama and his foreign policy. 90 percent of Greeks, 89 percent of Egyptians, 85 percent of Jordanians, 81 percent of Turks, 76 percent of Spaniards, 76 percent of Brazilians and 75 percent of Japanese disapprove of the drone airstrikes that are the mainstay of the Obama Administration fight against terrorists.
The Obama international policy approval ratings have dropped severely versus the 2009 ratings. The most ground was lost with China, losing 30 points going from 57 to 27, but that is not alone. Europe had a drop of 15 points, Japan down 19, Russia down 18, and even the nation’s neighbor Mexico is down 17 points from the high of 56 in 2009 to 39 today.
But as bad as the overseas views might be, in an election year it comes back to voters. Polls are of course not the standard bearer of election outcomes. No matter the trend today, tomorrow polls may improve. But the troubles for President Obama go deeper than just American polling data.
The net worth of the median (exact middle) American family dropped $49,100 between 2007 and 2010. In 2007 the median family net worth was $126,400 and in 2010 it was $77,300. While most of that came from the decrease in home values directly related to the mortgage crisis and the ongoing economic malaise, there was also a component in the loss of income during that time – down 7.7% for the median family.
With home foreclosures still at 1 in 698 across the nation (1.3 million homes according to RealtyTrac) the improvement in net worth is marginal at best.
Perhaps worst of all is the fact that enthusiasm, among Democrats in particular, appears to be waning. From the loss of the ‘Hope and Change’ campaign model to the current ‘I’m better than that guy’ negative campaign promotion the motivation for President Obama has turned from rebuilding a nation to a partisan ideology battle. It may be best exemplified by the loss of the Obama Girl, Amber Lee Ettinger.
Amber Lee Ettinger
Ms Ettinger was an internet sensation in the 2008 election. Her videos expousing her crush on and desire for a Presidential win for then-Senator Barack Obama were viral. To date the “Crush on Obama” Youtube video has had over 24 million hits. Anticipation for more videos ended when Ms Ettinger told the Daily Caller that she will not be resuming her role this election.
“(I’m) not as excited as I was the last time, that’s for sure.”
Perhaps the most important statement from Ms Ettinger was in reference to the popularity of the President and the influence of the internet, “Barack Obama was definitely the first ‘Internet President.” A statement that seems to imply a similarity to President Obama and Facebook’s IPO. Huge hype and internet excitement, but a reality that is less than hoped for.
Overall it is a definitive statement that the same person that swept the nation and world with promises for a new vision of America, seems less capable of another inspired win based on almost 4 years of bitter partisan politics and anemic economic growth.
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