Hope And Change

Obama’s star is fading.  I never had any doubt that he would be an ineffective President; he simply didn’t have a single ounce of experience that would lead a reasonable person to think otherwise.  He is, in essence, a lifetime member of the #OWS crowd.  Not an executive.

However, as the campaign wore on and I saw that he was going to be elected, I began to doubt America’s ability to discern competence, or at least lack of it, in our Presidents. We went from electing capable leaders to voting for American Idol.

But, good news.  America is waking up:

PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama’s 11th quarter in office was the worst of his administration, based on his quarterly average job approval ratings. His 41% approval average is down six percentage points from his 10th quarter in office, and is nearly four points below his previous low of 45% during his seventh quarter.

These results are based on Gallup Daily tracking from July 20-Oct. 19, 2011. During this time, Obama’s approval rating ranged narrowly between 38% and 43% for all but a few days of the quarter. The 38% approval ratings, registered on several occasions, are the lowest of his presidency to date.

This is fantastic news on two levels.  On the first, it reflects an awaking of Americans and does some little bit to restore my faith.  On the second, it means that the Republican Primary is really the Superbowl.  That condition where the one team is widely regarded as being too weak to defeat whoever the other team is.

Further, Obama is slipping in comparison to the last President to “inherit the worst economy since the great depression”.  Mr. Reagan:

At this point in his term, Reagan was well on his way to recovering from his horrible numbers.  There is no such movement on Obama’s part.  In fact, he continues to slide.  I fully expect worse numbers as the months go by.

9 responses to “Hope And Change

  1. A friendly bet — I say we’ll see economic improvement and once Obama’s campaign gets going he’ll rebound much like Clinton did before 1996. I still see Obama as the favorite to win next year. If the Republicans are smart and nominate Romney, then at this point I see it even money. But if it’s Perry or Cain, Obama wins and the Democrats could get the House back. A year is a long time in politics!

    • I say we’ll see economic improvement and once Obama’s campaign gets going he’ll rebound much like Clinton did before 1996.

      He’ll have to acquiesce to Boehner like Clinton did to Gingrich for that to happen.

      If the Republicans are smart and nominate Romney, then at this point I see it even money. But if it’s Perry or Cain, Obama wins and the Democrats could get the House back. A year is a long time in politics!

      I’ll take that bet. Moe and I are good for a chocolate bar. Maybe a beer?

      I don’t see the House swapping. I do see the Senate changing hands. At that point, I almost don’t care who is President. In fact, I’m beginning to feel that a Democrat President forces a Republican House/Senate to actually act like Republicans. So, it may be my favorite political split.

      I like Newt then Romney. But Perry or Cain will beat him.

      Bachmann and Santorum are nuts.

  2. Actually if you watch Jim Cramer, a lot of the parts of the American economy are quite strong . The railroads, car companies, and natural gas drillers are all doing very well . The European situation and gross stupidity in Washington are really the only things making President Obama look like a moron . Right now he should be riding high on a roaring economy. And he could still pull it off, but he has to stop being the class warrior in chief. He could easily make a deal with House Republicans and turn the economy around. It would mean further selling out his OWS friends,, but Clinton would do it.

    But I wish our OWS friends all the luck in the world. If the economy does tick up and Wall Street and Main Street kiss and make up , they will make Democrats look foolish .

    • And he could still pull it off, but he has to stop being the class warrior in chief. He could easily make a deal with House Republicans and turn the economy around. It would mean further selling out his OWS friends,, but Clinton would do it.

      For Obama to have even a chance of winning, he’ll need to deal with the Republican House.

      And he won’t. In ain’t in his nature.

  3. Obama did not WIN the last presidential election; the Republicans LOST the election by running McCain & Palin. I have no real problem with Mitt Romney, but I doubt that he is electable as a Republican.

    • Obama did not WIN the last presidential election; the Republicans LOST the election by running McCain & Palin.

      I would like to agree, but I’m afraid that it was a Democrat year.

      Sadly.

  4. Henry,

    Sometimes, no matter how incompetent you are, the fates and the stars line up exactly right for you . You apparently were not paying attention when Lehman Brothers and the financial panic hit , a few weeks before the election . Anyone, even an Obama was going to win as long as he was not Republican. Obama just happened to be at the right time and place. Republicans could have put up Lincoln to run and they were going to lose .

    • You gotta admit, Obama’s foreign policy has been looking very good lately. Announcing an end to the war in Iraq, success in Libya, killing Bin Laden and other top al qaeda figures, working deals to avoid a melt down from Europe (via Geithner), and in general increasing the status of the US as Obama has become a very popular figure abroad. That, plus a strong campaign, plus perhaps even improvement in the economy next year could turn things around.

      But you do have a point. A lot of this is beyond the control of the candidates. After all, no economist would say that the President determines economic growth, that’s multicausal and runs on its own time table. If the economy remains poor, Obama will suffer. Even though the problems have not been caused by him, or Bush, or the Democrats or the Republicans, but a myriad of factors that no one person or policy can shift or alter. I personally find myself comfortable with the prospect of a President Romney (though George would have been a better President than Mitt). I prefer Obama, but Romney wouldn’t upset me. Cain? Perry? I just don’t think they’re up to the task.

  5. Scott,

    Foreign policy, like economics is more an art than science. True Obama has been fortunate this year . It is funny how what has worked for him has been the use of American force and the murder of foreign leaders. How very Bush like. How very un Candidate Obama like. Obama still has not made any progress with Iran . The failure to meaningfully punish Iran for their latest plot will come back to bite the US.

    I prefer anyone to Obama. I prefer anyone who tells the truth about economics, to Obama .The real question is will the economy improve fast enough to save Obama. If it suddenly does improve, the OWS crowd will look pretty foolish .It will also get interesting next summer when the OWS is in the streets at the same time as the Tea Party. I wonder who the cops will have the most trouble with ?

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