How long until Obama's free pass is over?

[OnePimpTiger]

Obama's approval rating drops, but still higher than approval for his policies

Three new national polls suggest President Obama is more popular than his policies. Two of those surveys, by NBC-Wall Street Journal and CBS-New York Times, also indicate concerns over the federal deficit are growing.

Sixty-three percent of those questioned in the CBS-New York Times poll, which was released Wednesday night, approve of the job Obama is doing as president, down 5 points from April.

But when asked about specifics, his approval rating drops. Fifty-seven percent in the survey say they approve of how the president is dealing with the economy, 44 percent give Obama a thumbs up on health care reform and 41 percent approve of how he's handling the problems of the U.S. auto industry.

The poll also indicates that 30 percent think Obama has a clear plan for dealing with the nation's deficit.

The NBC-Wall Street Journal survey, also released Wednesday night, makes the same point. The president's overall approval in that poll stands at 56 percent, down five points from April. But only about half of those questioned approve of how he's handling the economy, and 56 percent oppose Obama's plan to provide financial aid to General Motors.

The president's approval rating stands at 61 percent in a Pew Research Center poll, down two points from its April survey. Just over half of those questioned in the poll, released Thursday, approve of how Obama is handling the economy, and 47 percent support his handling of the automakers.

"Personally, President Obama's more popular than his policies. Americans have a high level of confidence in the president, but people don't believe many of his policies have worked yet. There's a wait-and-see attitude," said CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider.

People don't like how he is handling the automakers, are split on how he's handling the economy, and only 30% think he has a clear plan for dealing with the deficit...and now his overall approval rating has dropped 5 points in just two months. It looks like fewer people are giving him the free pass and are actually starting to judge him on what he has actually done...and being judged on policies is not good news for the Pres.

[FootballCardFreak]

Finally!

[RedGoneWILD]

maybe next time the republicans won't offer us John McCain & Sarah Palin....leaving anybody with any common sense no choice but to elect Obama

[OnePimpTiger]

maybe next time the republicans won't offer us John McCain & Sarah Palin....leaving anybody with any common sense no choice but to elect Obama

Funny, that's how I felt about voting for McCain instead of Obama ...and it seems like more people are realizing that from these polls. But I agree, we need better candidates all around.

[gatorboymike]

I would have thought it would be obvious that a big part of what determines a president's approval rating is how likable he is. I mean, Bush's approval rating was still in the mid 40s while approval for his policies was far below that. Obama is the kind of guy liberals like the same way Bush is the kind of guy conservatives like.

But to answer your question, I'd say 3-4 more months.

[pwaldo]

maybe next time the republicans won't offer us John McCain & Sarah Palin....leaving anybody with any common sense no choice but to elect Obama

Funny because anybody with common sense wouldn't have voted for Obama OR McCain.

The Republican party is dead and the Democrats are dying faster than the Republicans did. It will be only a matter of time before a decent person runs in 2012 with a chance to win against the garbage that these 2 parties put out.

[RedGoneWILD]

Funny because anybody with common sense wouldn't have voted for Obama OR McCain.

The Republican party is dead and the Democrats are dying faster than the Republicans did. It will be only a matter of time before a decent person runs in 2012 with a chance to win against the garbage that these 2 parties put out.

i'll keep my fingers crossed

[daniel3417]

Your sentiments are felt my millions. Start spreading the word of voting for a freaking Libertarian.

Don't blame the Republicans and Democrats for acting like Republicans and Democrats. Blame yourselves for continually voting them into office over and over and over and over again. They've successfully convinced you that any other choice is a "waste."

[WantToTrade]

word, Ron Paul for Emperor

[themanishere]

You take that back, OBAMA IS DA MAN!!! Hint: sarcasm

Blame yourselves for continually voting them into office over and over and over and over again. They've successfully convinced you that any other choice is a "waste."

Political parties are no longer about "the people" as many like to think (and they haven't been for some time). They are, first and foremost, about the survival and perpetuation of the organization and its interests. These may coincide with those of the people, but in the end what is good for the party is what is emphasized, whether it is good for "the people" or not.

And even if a third party candidate were to win down the line, it would only replace a party in the system. Eventually, this next party would again become about the survival of its organization instead of "the people's" interests. In other words, it would be a cycle - a party breaks though, and over time settles into organizational tactics until another one comes along and replaces the cycle again. It is necessarily so because of how things are structured.