Week in Review - Sunday: Patrick Dresslar

Obama's Falling Approval Rating

I'm not surprised President Obama's approval rating has dipped below 50%.  When you combine a historic campaign rooted in bringing radical change with an American public that has never exactly displayed a great deal of patience with Washington, you are creating approval rating poison.  Obama promised a fundamental and momentous departure from his predecessor, and as far as tangible results there have been few.  We all know how naive and impatient the electorate is, and they haven't seen any of this change so of course his ratings will plummet. 

Although I hesitantly pulled the lever for Obama last November, I was always skeptical of a candidate that promised (and promise he did so many times) revolutionary change in a center-right country who's political pendulum is characterized by gradual, soft movements, not radical or violent swings from right to left or vice versa.  He looked like a naive politician who did not understand how Washington works, so I am not surprised he has had this much difficulty in his first year.  Additionally, although I praise Obama for his political eloquence and his good-natured demeanor, his policies are divisive.  In his pursuit of change, he has outlined his agenda for our country, and it is so polarizingly different from President Bush, people are going to have knee-jerk reactions, particularly the moderates and swing voters that put Obama into office.  They don't like out-of-control spending in a time of mind-boggling deficits and debt, so these factors result in his dropping poll numbers. 

Finally, people are still out of work.  We have not recovered from this crippling recession, and so in times of despair the people look towards Washington for blame.  And unfortunately and unfairly for Obama, he inherited a deteriorating economy which has not dramatically improved as fast as so many wide-eyed and green voters unfairly expected.  If President Obama can pass significant health care reform and can outline our plan in Afghanistan to the American people with candor and eloquence, I believe he can recover some of the ratings ground he has lost.  It is still very early in his term, so there is plenty of time to improve.

Email Patrick