Gallup: Obama Suffers Worst 3rd Quarter Drop in Approval Since 1953

[MintJulep]

Gallup: Obama Suffers Worst 3rd Quarter Drop in Approval Since 1953 (http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2009/10/21/poll-obama-worst-decline-in-approval-since-wwii/)

Posted by David Paul Kuhn | Email This (http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2009/10/21/poll-obama-worst-decline-in-approval-since-wwii/#) | Permalink (http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2009/10/21/poll-obama-worst-decline-in-approval-since-wwii/) | Email Author (dpk@realclearpolitics.com)

Barack Obama has suffered the worst third quarter decline in his public approval rating of any elected president in the post-World War II era.

Obama's average quarterly approval rating has slipped from 62 percent in the second quarter to 52.9 percent in the third quarter, according to Gallup (http://www.gallup.com/poll/123806/Obama-Quarterly-Approval-Average-Slips-Nine-Points.aspx?CSTS=alert) polling. That 9 percentage point decline is twice the amount of any other post-war elected president. Dwight Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan saw their standing decline 4 points between the two quarters. No other elected president has declined more than 4 points since 1953. The third quarter began July 20 and ended October 19.

Harry Truman, who of course inherited the presidency from FDR, dropped 13 points between his second and third quarters in 1945 and 1946.

Significantly, Obama's plunge in the polls is notable but not new news. Obama suffered the bulk of his decline in late summer, though the media was slow to notice or note (http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2009/07/31/the-ongoing-misread-of-obamas-poll-numbers/). Since summer, Obama has stabilized and generally bobbed slightly above the 50 percent mark. However, Gallup's latest tracking poll shows Obama right at 50 percent. That matches the lowest ranking of his still-young presidency. Rasmussen (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll) also tracks Obama near his previous floor.

Among all presidents since WWII, Obama's third quarter approval rating is above only Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford. Clinton averaged 48 percent in the third quarter of 1993. Ford averaged 39 percent during his 1975 third quarter.
More sobering for Obama, Gallup reports that Obama's latest quarterly average ranks 144th, or in the 44th percentile, for all post-war presidents during any quarter.

http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2009/10/21/poll-obama-worst-decline-in-approval-since-wwii/

[Life_Long_Dem!]

Despite those mixed reviews on domestic priorities, Obama continues to hold a big political advantage over Republicans.

Poll respondents are evenly divided when asked whether they have confidence in Obama to make the right decisions for the country's future, but just 19 percent express confidence in the Republicans in Congress to do so. Even among Republicans, only 40 percent express confidence in the GOP congressional leadership to make good choices.

Only 20 percent of adults identify themselves as Republicans, little changed in recent months, but still the lowest single number in Post-ABC polls since 1983. Political independents continue to make up the largest group, at 42 percent of respondents; 33 percent call themselves Democrats. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/19/AR2009101902451_2.html?sid=ST2009101902502
Sample of poll from washington post/abc news where its says even that 56 percent of americans INCLUDING republicans support the public option if left up to states to decide involvement. POINT BEING polls are very subjective and can be sckewed and twisted depending on the results you want so the should be taken with a grain of salt in my honest opinion.

[CosmicRocker]

Too much in flux to analyze about polls now.
Health Care, cap and trade, Afg. policy.

I'm not even going to look at polls till after the holidays.