Free Falling

The American people’s disenchantment with Barack Obama and his administration continues to grow. In today’s Rasmussen survey, Obama reaches the lowest point yet recorded: a -14 on Rasmussen’s “approval index.” Only 27 percent now “strongly approve” of Obama’s performance, while 41 percent “strongly disapprove.” Here is the chart (click to enlarge):
obama_index_august_23_2009.jpg
Two observations: first, while poll results bounce around from day to day, Obama’s trend is obvious. He does not appear to have reached bottom yet. Second, for some time now a plurality of respondents–the largest group by a considerable margin–has strongly disapproved of his performance. In recent weeks, that plurality has been around 40 percent. It continues to grow. It seems doubtful that many of those who now strongly disapprove of Obama’s performance will ever become “approvers,” even if Obama changes course a bit. So the radical measures that Obama tried to ram through Congress in the early weeks of his administration have likely mobilized a solid core of opposition against which the President will have to contend for the rest of his term.

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