Thus far in opinion polling, President Obama’s ratings have continued to hold fairly steady, bolstered for the most part by his extremely high numbers among Democrats.
In the latest survey from Fox News and Opinion Dynamics that trend continues to hold true. Ninety-three precent of Democratic respondents approved of Obama’s job performance compared to just 23 percent of Republicans.
There are varying conclusions you can draw from this disparity, but one data point that seems tough to dispute is that while Democrats seem more than willing to give the president the benefit of the doubt at this point, that reservoir of goodwill is not unlimited:
When asked if most Americans are happy today, hardly anyone — just 2 percent — think their fellow Americans are “very happy” and another 15 percent think they are “happy,” while 53 percent say most are “only somewhat happy.”
Some 27 percent of Americans think people across the country are “not really happy at all,” more than double the 11 percent who said so when the question was last asked (April 18-19, 2001).
In April 2001, at about this same point in former President George W. Bush’s first term, more people thought their fellow countrymen were happy. At that time, 6 percent said most Americans were “very happy,” and another 32 percent “happy.” Some 47 percent said most Americans were “only somewhat happy.” […]
By more than 3-to-1 Americans think it is time for the Obama administration to start taking responsibility (64 percent) instead of continuing to blame the Bush administration for mistakes (21 percent).
It will be interesting to see to what degree Obama’s personal popularity will be able to offset the above trends, especially if the economy continues to remain weak, as predicted by the Federal Reserve in its most recent meeting. The longer Obama stays in office, the tougher it is to blame former president George Bush for the nation’s problems.
Hat tip: Mary Katharine Ham.
