Investors Business Daily released a poll Monday showing that just 41% of Americans approve of the job Obama is doing as President. A majority, 52%, disapprove. The negative 11-point spread is the worst of his Presidency. American anxiety over the surveillance and IRS scandals are continuing to damage Obama.
The poll’s Presidential Leadership Index, a number that accounts for the different variables the public uses to rate Presidents, showed a steep decline for Obama in June. At the beginning of the month, Obama’s index stood at 48.7. At the end of June, however, it had collapsed to 43.2, an 11.7% decline that is the biggest one-month drop of his Presidency. A reading under 50 signals public disapproval. June was the 4th straight month the Index was under 50.
Certainly the scandals, and the Administration’s missteps in handling them, are the dominant factor in Obama’s falling poll numbers. 72% of Independents believe the government’s surveillance programs invade the privacy of innocent Americans, for example.
A larger problem for Obama, however, is that his issue agenda is not aligned with the public. His focus early in this second term has been on gun control, global warming and immigration. According to the poll, 25% of respondents reported that someone in their household was currently looking for full-time work.
Until that number goes down, Obama’s polling numbers probably aren’t going up.
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