|
 |
 |
|
Losing faith in Obama
-
08/21/09 07:15 AM ET
A new Washington Post/ABC News poll confirms the trendlines: Americans are losing confidence and faith in President Obama and the healthcare reform debate has sealed the deal.
Seniors are feeling negative — and are "more than five times as likely to believe their care will deterioriate under projected modifications than to believe it will improve," according to the Post. The level of intensity on the issue is highest, no surprise, with opponents — they feel more strongly in their criticism than supporters do in their approval. A majority finds the protests "appropriate" and independents are flocking from Obama, with nearly 60 percent of them disapproving of his handling of healthcare and only 50 percent of them approving of his job performance.
These are very tough numbers for President Obama. They show a disheartened, disapproving public finding comfort in the status quo and no longer yearning for change. Whatever he tells himself about how intent Republicans are in opposing him, and how difficult it is to quiet the rifts in the Democratic Party, Obama knows that his own message on healthcare didn't stick, got lost or failed. People aren't hearing him anymore, and they aren't buying what he says.
A fascinating revelation made it into a report in the Aug. 7 edition of The Washington Post that received little attention. It stated that Obama's senior adviser, David Axelrod, came to a meeting with Senate Democrats armed with polling data that showed "independents, women, seniors and rural voters are particularly receptive to a consumer protection message that depicts reform as a way to change the behavior of insurance companies."
Independents, seniors, and women are exactly who Obama is losing in this message war, and the Democrats cannot hold their majorities in Congress or reelect Obama without them.
***
DOES OBAMA GET CREDIT FOR ECONOMIC IMPROVEMENT? Ask AB returns Sept. 1. Please join my video Q&A by sending your questions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .'; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text880 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //--> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Thank you.
Seniors are feeling negative — and are "more than five times as likely to believe their care will deterioriate under projected modifications than to believe it will improve," according to the Post. The level of intensity on the issue is highest, no surprise, with opponents — they feel more strongly in their criticism than supporters do in their approval. A majority finds the protests "appropriate" and independents are flocking from Obama, with nearly 60 percent of them disapproving of his handling of healthcare and only 50 percent of them approving of his job performance.
These are very tough numbers for President Obama. They show a disheartened, disapproving public finding comfort in the status quo and no longer yearning for change. Whatever he tells himself about how intent Republicans are in opposing him, and how difficult it is to quiet the rifts in the Democratic Party, Obama knows that his own message on healthcare didn't stick, got lost or failed. People aren't hearing him anymore, and they aren't buying what he says.
A fascinating revelation made it into a report in the Aug. 7 edition of The Washington Post that received little attention. It stated that Obama's senior adviser, David Axelrod, came to a meeting with Senate Democrats armed with polling data that showed "independents, women, seniors and rural voters are particularly receptive to a consumer protection message that depicts reform as a way to change the behavior of insurance companies."
Independents, seniors, and women are exactly who Obama is losing in this message war, and the Democrats cannot hold their majorities in Congress or reelect Obama without them.
***
DOES OBAMA GET CREDIT FOR ECONOMIC IMPROVEMENT? Ask AB returns Sept. 1. Please join my video Q&A by sending your questions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .'; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text880 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //--> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Thank you.
Most Viewed RSS Feed »
