Death of a Salesman
A slew of new polls suggest Obama is not a great pitchman for his policies.
By John Dickerson
Slate.com
Posted Tuesday, July 13, 2010
On Thursday, the president will travel to Holland, Mich., to tout investments created by the Recovery Act. Several other administration officials, including the vice president, will hit the road, too. These periodic jaunts are part of "Recovery Summer," a months-long enterprise that, like the summer trips everyone else takes, will be punctuated by a single question: "Are we there yet?"
Economists may say, yes, the economy is recovering, but the country says no. Only 25 percent say the economy is improving, according to a recent CBS survey. That's just one of the dark findings for the administration in a slew of recent polls that suggest that the administration's summer tour will do little to improve the president's political fortunes and those of his party.
Three polls that came out in the last two days offer discouraging news for the White House. In the Washington Post/ABC News poll, public confidence in the president has hit a new low. Six in 10 voters say they lack faith in the president. In a CBS News poll, 54 percent of the country disapproves of his handling of the economy, the highest number to date. In a Pew Research Center/National Journal poll, the number of Americans who approve of the president's health care legislation, the signature achievement of his presidency so far, sits at an anemic 35 percent.
When politicians are confronted with bad poll numbers, they often say that these surveys are just a "snapshot in time." That can be true. Fortunes can change. Doom is not locked in. But what's so bad about these surveys is that they paint a very dark picture about the president's ability to brighten the future. If Obama can't improve things for Democrats, no one can. And as bad as the president's numbers are, the Democrats in Congress are in even worse shape.
(More here.)
By John Dickerson
Slate.com
Posted Tuesday, July 13, 2010
On Thursday, the president will travel to Holland, Mich., to tout investments created by the Recovery Act. Several other administration officials, including the vice president, will hit the road, too. These periodic jaunts are part of "Recovery Summer," a months-long enterprise that, like the summer trips everyone else takes, will be punctuated by a single question: "Are we there yet?"
Economists may say, yes, the economy is recovering, but the country says no. Only 25 percent say the economy is improving, according to a recent CBS survey. That's just one of the dark findings for the administration in a slew of recent polls that suggest that the administration's summer tour will do little to improve the president's political fortunes and those of his party.
Three polls that came out in the last two days offer discouraging news for the White House. In the Washington Post/ABC News poll, public confidence in the president has hit a new low. Six in 10 voters say they lack faith in the president. In a CBS News poll, 54 percent of the country disapproves of his handling of the economy, the highest number to date. In a Pew Research Center/National Journal poll, the number of Americans who approve of the president's health care legislation, the signature achievement of his presidency so far, sits at an anemic 35 percent.
When politicians are confronted with bad poll numbers, they often say that these surveys are just a "snapshot in time." That can be true. Fortunes can change. Doom is not locked in. But what's so bad about these surveys is that they paint a very dark picture about the president's ability to brighten the future. If Obama can't improve things for Democrats, no one can. And as bad as the president's numbers are, the Democrats in Congress are in even worse shape.
(More here.)
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