There can be no doubt that President Barack Obama lacked sufficient influence to convince American voters earlier this month. Common wisdom from media talking heads holds that voters rejected Democrats, because we are too liberal, and that Obama must move to the right. A new poll demonstrates that common wisdom is, as is commonly the case, wrong.
Check these numbers out from CNN’s latest national survey (1,014 adults, Nov. 11-14, MoE +/- 3%):
(1) Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?
(2) (IF DISAPPROVE) Do you disapprove because you think his policies and actions since he became president have been too liberal, or because you think his policies and actions have not been liberal enough?
Approve: 48%
Disapprove, too liberal: 38%
Disapprove, not liberal enough: 9%
Disapprove, unsure: 3%
The top-line numbers show that Obama’s approval rating is at 48% approve, 50% disapprove. But beyond the top-lines lurks an important part of the story.
Yes, most people who disapprove of President Obama’s performance think he’s too liberal. But a substantial share of his criticism is coming from the left: one-fifth of those who disapprove of President Obama don’t think he’s liberal enough… [emphasis original]
Inserted from <Daily Kos>
I examined the poll itself, and the only bias I could discover is that this data would not include cell phone users.
So if we add those who approve and those who disapprove because Obama is not liberal enough we have 57% who say stay the same or move to the left, opposed to only 38% who say move to the right.
Therefore the direction Obama and the Democrats must take is clear.
5 Responses to “Why People Disapprove of Obama”
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I have to wonder whether there has ever been a President who entered office with a high popularity rating and high expectations, who didn’t suffer a drop in popularity after the first two years for similar reasons. Between the people on the other side who don’t like what he’s doing, and the people on his own side who think he hasn’t done enough of it — and both views will inevitably materialize — such a drop seems unavoidable.
The logical response by Obama and Congressional Democrats, however, depends on their assessment of likely voter behavior. From the fall in turnout this year we already know that many of those who think Obama “not liberal enough” didn’t bother to vote. Thus they have already sent a strong signal that they can be safely ignored. The question for politicians seeking re-election is, can those people be lured back to vote in 2012 by any policies not so radical as to drive away a large number of voters who are on the fence between Democrats and Republicans?
In fact, the broad mass of voters will be motivated more by whether unemployment has improved — but it doesn’t help when progressives send a signal (by not voting) that politicians would have better luck seeking votes in the political center.
Infidel, this is brilliant analysis, and your point is golden. The regressive wing of the left has indeed harmed true progressives by their attitude and behavior.
This example points out one of the problems with polls, and throwing out poll numbers without looking more deeply into them. Of the surface, 50% disapprove of Obama. But as you said, only 38% disapprove of him because he is not republican enough. The 12% which disapprove of him for other reasons (not liberal enough or don’t know) are more likely to vote for him than against him, giving him a strong positive election potential.
Jerry, five minutes ago, I would have agreed, but Infidel’s rationale is solid.
He has had some disappointments with me because I don’t think he’s liberal enough. But when the other side is turning to fasicism, everyone is everyone to the right of Ronald Reagan is too liberal. I really wish he would get some big brass balls and tell the Repubs to fuck off. 😉