In the Bush years, poll results that showed the American people losing confidence in their president were featured routinely on the front page of major newspapers like The Washington Post. But when the Post discovers that President Obama's ratings are collapsing, you need a search party to find where inside the paper they're buried.
On April 26, the Post offered three stories on polls, each with bad news for Obama. The only one mentioned on the front page (in the very bottom right-hand corner) was a Post/ABC poll showing "rising gas prices are leading Americans to drive less, and hurting the president's popularity." From there, the reader would have to travel to page A-12.
"Hurting" is an understatement. Only 39 percent of those who called gas prices a "serious financial hardship" approve of Obama's performance as president. Among independents who found hardship, 67 percent disapprove of Obama. Ouch.
The Post said this hardship could "slow Obama's reelection campaign." Again, that's putting it mildly. Sixty percent of independents feeling the pain of gas prices said they would definitely not vote for Obama. In a match-up with Mitt Romney in that bracket, Romney wins by 24 points.
Turn the page backward, and on page A-10, there's another story. More Americans disapprove of Obama's management of the war in Afghanistan than support it: 44 percent approved, 49 percent disapproved. Once again, just focus on the independents: 53 percent disapproved of Obama's handling of Afghanistan.......MORE
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