While the majority of the country really likes the guy, most Americans still don’t think President Obama has done much to help them in the last eight years.
A new AP-NORC poll, released 11 days before Obama leaves the Oval Office, shows that 57 percent of Americans like the outgoing president. That popularity hasn’t brought results though: Nearly 60 percent say they are not better off after his presidency.
The new numbers reflect an enduring phenomenon. The Chicago president’s winning personality drives national poll numbers but does little to improve the lives of individual households.
After all, Obama’s popularity stats didn’t erase the deficit or drive the nation’s gross domestic product. Even his strongest backers admit as much.
The overwhelming majority of the African-American community, 80 percent, the Associated Press reports, supports the president. But they haven’t experienced the results promised. Forty-three percent say that Obama has made things better for black people while half say there’s been no difference at all. The remaining six percent say the president actually made things worse.
That creates an interesting contrast with the president’s successor. Unlike Obama on the campaign trail, President-elect Trump was wildly unpopular, plunging to a 32 percent approval rating at his lowest ebb. While he’s experienced a bump since winning, Trump still trails other president-elects and that’s no surprise.
The presidential election wasn’t a popularity contest this time around. It was a pragmatic determination. For the incoming administration, the takeaway is obvious: Worry about tangible results more than ephemeral image.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
