Two More Polls–Two New Lows for Obama

Peter Wehner
08.30.2011 - 2:38 PM






Two more polls have been released – and two new lows for the president have been reached.

Let’s take them one at a time, beginning with Gallup’s weekly analysis. It shows President Obama’s job approval rating averaged 40 percent last week, tying his record-low rating and 53 percent disapproval. But the poll also provides trend lines that must be absolutely frightening to David Axelrod & Company.


The last time Obama’s average weekly job approval rating registered at least 50 percent among all Americans was May 30-June 5, 2011. Since then, the president’s support has eroded among every major demographic subgroup. Right now, no group other than blacks, Democrats, and liberals gives him majority support. The president’s loss of support is found among both genders and all ages, all income brackets, all races, all educational levels, and all regions of the country.

While Obama receives strong support (83 percent) among blacks, his support among Hispanics, a particularly prized political demographic, is down to 44 percent. Fewer than one-in-three whites (32 percent) approve of the president’s performance. Since the start of the summer Obama has lost a dozen points of support from independents and a dozen points of support from among moderates. He’s dropped 11 points among women and among liberals. He’s lost 12 points of support among college graduates and 16 points among those with post-graduate degrees. The president has lost 6 points among those earning $24,000 and less and 16 points among those earning $90,000 and more.

The picture for Obama supporters, then, is unremittingly bleak.

And then there is the president’s signature domestic achievement, the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). According to a Kaiser Health Tracking poll, support for ACA has reached an all-time low. Less than four in 10 Americans surveyed (39 percent) have a favorable view of the law. Among independents, 33 percent feel favorably toward the ACA. And only 60 percent of Democrats support it.

On every front and in every conceivable way, the president is experiencing declining–and in some cases hemorrhaging–support.

This has been a brutal political summer for Obama. And I’m not sure the fall will bring him any relief.