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Poll says Obama's glow shines less brightly

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-23 08:24

WASHINGTON: The hope and optimism that washed over the United States in the opening months of Barack Obama's presidency are giving way to harsh realities.

An Associated Press-GfK Poll shows that a majority of Americans are back to thinking that the country is headed in the wrong direction after a fleeting period in which more thought it was on the right track.

US President Barack Obama delivers an opening statement at the start of a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington July 22, 2009. [Agencies]

Obama still has a solid 55 percent approval rating - better than Bill Clinton and about even with George W. Bush six months into their presidencies - but there are growing doubts about whether he can succeed at some of the biggest items on his to-do list. And there is a growing sense that he is trying to tackle too much too soon.

The number of people who think Obama can improve the economy is down a sobering 19 percentage points from the euphoric days just before his inauguration. Ditto for expectations about creating jobs. Also down significantly: the share of people who think he can reduce the deficit, remove troops from Iraq and improve respect for the US around the world, all slipping 15 points.

On overhauling health care, a signature issue for Obama, hopes for success are down a lesser 6 points.

Does all of that mean Obama has lost his mojo? Has "Yes-we-can" morphed into "Maybe"?

"I think it's just reality," said Sandy Smith, a 48-year-old public relations worker from Los Angeles. "He's not Superman, right?"

Obama did win a major spending victory yesterday when the Senate voted to terminate further production of the U.S. Air Force's topline F-22 fighter jets. Obama and his allies sided with the Pentagon's desire for smaller jets better suited to 21st century wars.

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It's not unusual for approval ratings to slide once presidents actually get to work. In Obama's case, the problems he's confronting domestically and internationally are legion, and his ability to blame them on his predecessor is fading. Challenges still abound in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unemployment, at 7.6 percent in January, hit 9.5 percent in June and is expected to keep rising well into next year. The president is deep into the debate over how to overhaul the US health care system, and people are nervous about how their own insurance could be affected.

It's all taking a toll on expectations. The number of people who think it's realistic to expect at least some noticeable improvement in the economy during Obama's first year in office dropped from 27 percent in January to 16 percent in the latest survey.

There's been slippage, as well, in how people view the president personally, although he's still well regarded. About two-thirds now think he understands the problems of ordinary Americans, down from 81 percent in January.

"He doesn't know enough about any of this," says Michelle Kelsey, a 37-year-old student in Breckenridge, Missouri. But then again, Kelsey says, "Nobody could have done better."

"The easiest way to keep your poll numbers up," Obama said in a TV interview that aired Tuesday, "is to do not that much here in this town, and not to cause a lot of controversy. And some people would probably advise that that's the approach you should take.

"But that's not why the American people sent me here. They sent me here to solve problems," he said.

AP