Obama’s Report Card: What The Polls Are Saying Since The Health Care Bill and Tea Party Movement

Poll numbers indicate Obama still has a chance at a second term.

By: Amanda Anderson

The last few months have been pretty tough for President Obama. The Republican Party is refusing to work with any legislation the administration is proposing, the Health care bill has passed while managing to divide the country completely, and the sudden popularity of the Tea Party Movement is not really good for the administration since Obama is having a hard time convincing the American people that he has a solution to some of the country’s most prevailing issues. Sure the passing of the Health care bill was one of the first major victories for the President, but it may also be the defeat of the Democratic Party come elections, and most importantly, 2012. It may be ridiculous to count the President out so soon, but is it possible that he can recover from such a polarizing bill that many Americans are refusing to support? Political pundits believe it’s possible, but what do the polls say?

According to the New York Times/CBS Poll, the percentage of those that believe the country is heading in the right direction has only managed to increase by one point. To get specific, the percentage has climbed from 33 percent to 34 percent. However, there was a 3 point reduction among those who believe the country is headed in the wrong direction; the percentage has decreased (from 62 percent to 59 percent). That is very good news for Obama if he can manage to make these numbers continue to decline.

When it comes to rather the President is viewed as favorable or not, since February, numbers have managed to increase by 4 points. As of now, 43 percent of Americans see the President as favorable. Around the time of Inauguration, 60 percent of Americans viewed Obama as favorable, while 9 percent viewed him as unfavorable. Now 33 percent of Americans view Obama as unfavorable. While the numbers may have drastically changed since the Inauguration, the number of those who view the President as favorable has increased since February.

Regarding whether people feel as if Obama understands the needs of the American people, the number of those that don’t believe he understands has increased since September 2008. 39 percent don’t believe the President understands the needs of Americans. 58 percent believe Obama understands, and this number isn’t that much different from the number in September 2008 (60 percent).

The interesting twist concerns how Americans feel about the President’s values. 57 percent of Americans believe that Obama shares their values. Why is that important? Well, that’s a 9 point drop from the numbers taken in October 2008. The 37 percent that say Obama doesn’t share their views is now higher than it has ever been. It’s 10 points higher than it was in October 2008, and 25 points higher than it was in July 2007.

And here’s where the numbers just get a little ridiculous. 52 percent of Americans believe Obama is leading the country into Socialism. Not to mention, 58 percent of Americans believe the President is a natural born citizen. Unlike the Tea Party Supporters, 83 percent of Americans believe that Obama treats both Black and Whites equally. Want a good laugh? 25 percent of the Tea Party supporters believe Obama favors blacks over whites.

These numbers definitely don’t signify that a second term is impossible for Obama, but it does make it clear that the Democrats should be concerned about the upcoming congressional elections. The President may have plenty of time to fair better with the American people, but it’s pretty clear that time is running out for Congress.

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