Obama: Slipping in the Polls

Barack Obama is going to speak during the lowest point of American morale in three years. According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, over 60 percent of Americans disapprove of the way the 44th president is handling the economy, which is the primary issue for citizens traumatized by an unemployment rate stuck in the 9 to 10 percent zone and by the announcement that no new jobs had been created last month.

Nonetheless, it isn’t all bad news for B.O.: 43 percent of people questioned by ABC and The Washington Post had a favorable opinion of his presidency as a whole. At the same point in their presidencies, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were well above 50 percent in favorable opinions, even after suffering setbacks during the midterms.

This may be the current situation that the Obama presidency is dealing with. The Americans have supported him up to this point, but the economy is stagnant, and what’s more, the message of the tea party and of his Republican challengers — Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann — on the direction of the economy is dominating the conversation and influencing American minds. The demagogic populism and energy of Texas Gov. Rick Perry threaten to swing the electorate. Obama’s cerebral side and his inability to get in the ring and hit back exasperate his fellow citizens, who are naturally attracted to Perry’s Reaganesque side — even if for the good of the country, a president who is a bit too cerebral is better than a president like George W. Bush, who was ready to declare war on everyone and denounce the “axis of evil.”

Today, even those who voted for him have doubts: Two-thirds of those who voted for him think that the country is headed down the wrong path. The only small comfort is that Americans have a negative view of the Republicans elected to Congress. Only 28 percent approve of them.

Among Democrats, two-thirds disapprove of the president’s economic policy. Among independents, the voters unaffiliated with either of the two parties and crucial for ensuring Barack Obama’s re-election, 78 percent said they were unhappy with the 44th president. Obama had been brought to the White House by the slogan “Yes We Can.” Today, he could be dethroned by the reemergence of the question that assured Ronald Reagan’s victory in 1980: “Are you better off today (than when Jimmy Carter had been elected)?” To ask the question is to answer it.

This shows to what extent tonight’s speech is important. It won’t be enough to bring up the polls, but it might be the first step toward a political resurrection. It isn’t over yet.