Gallup: Obama disapproval in the 60s on the economy, budget deficit
posted at 2:21 pm on August 16, 2012 by Ed Morrissey
A little over two weeks ago, Gallup found that the most important issues on the minds of voters are the economy, jobs, and the federal budget deficit. Today’s Gallup poll shows Obama more than twenty points underwater on all three issues, and above 60% disapproval on two of them:
Three months before the election, President Barack Obama gets good marks from Americans for his handling of terrorism, fair marks for education and foreign affairs, but poor marks on immigration and three big economic issues: the federal budget deficit, creating jobs, and the economy generally.
Historically speaking, this is bad news for Obama’s re-election efforts:
Obama’s ratings on the economy are significantly worse than all three prior successful presidential incumbents at this same point in their first term, according to the available Gallup trends. His 36% approval rating on the economy is well below George W. Bush’s rating in August 2004 (46%), Bill Clinton’s in August 1996 (54%), and Ronald Reagan’s in July 1984 (50%). Still, in terms of comparisons to presidents who lost, Obama’s economic rating is substantially better than that of George H.W. Bush in July 1992 (18%). Gallup did not measure Americans’ approval of Jimmy Carter on the economy in 1980.
Reagan was, however, at 48% on job creation at that time as well as 50% on the economy, and 52% overall in job approval rating. Carter was at 37% overall and Bush 41 at 32% overall approval, the only two presidents since Ford to be under 50%. Of all the predictive indicators, this one might worry Obama most, currently at 45% and dropping.
The low marks on the most vital issues at this time, though, show the difficulty for his campaign to run on his record, or even new ideas … if Obama had any. His campaign hasn’t even yet articulated a second-term agenda except to continue the policies that have him at 36/60 on the economy and 30/64 on the federal budget. Even the Associated Press has given up pretending that today’s economic conditions are expected and cyclical.
Small wonder that the entire Obama/Biden strategy this week has been Seamus the Roof Riding Dog and a dog-whistle reference to slavery. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan continue to focus on jobs, the economy, and budget deficits — the most vulnerable place to hit the Obama/Biden ticket.
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KOOLAID2
angrymike on May 23, 2013 at 8:44 PM
Well, that money is going somewhere. Just re-direct to the poor, and Shangrila.
BobMbx on May 23, 2013 at 8:44 PM
Just think what our prices would be going down to if the statists running our country weren’t dedicated to killing coal for electricity generation.
karenhasfreedom on May 23, 2013 at 8:48 PM
Wind Powah!
Del Dolemonte on May 23, 2013 at 8:48 PM
And Japan’s energy cost hike is due to loss of nuclear capacity due to natural disaster — and the need to import energy otherwise. That is a worst case scenario — and Europe is still off the charts with respect to Japan.
65droptop on May 23, 2013 at 8:55 PM
Why in the hell would I care what a low-grade bank clerk thinks about energy production?
(Google “Low grade bank clerk”)…
JohnGalt23 on May 23, 2013 at 9:00 PM
France is not opposed REALLY for “environmental” reasons. They are opposed because they sell nuclear electricity to everyone else. If Germany and the UK develop shale gas, they will not buy as much French nuclear generated electricity.
crosspatch on May 23, 2013 at 9:03 PM
Or save time and search “Nigel Farage” on youtube.
65droptop on May 23, 2013 at 9:08 PM
Good, let the Europeans squander their wealth in boondoggle “green” tech.
When the muslems take over, they’ll be conquering a continent with very little usable infrastructure.
Rebar on May 23, 2013 at 9:10 PM
The problem with these ‘renewables’ are that they are anything but. The capital costs of the windmills is enormous while the windmills themselves have never even lasted through the depreciation schedule without recapitalization. Even when manufactured in China. Likewise solar. Solar costs 4 times the kilowatt hour without subsidies, but the panels lose 50% of their electrical generation by years 6-7. Likewise battery storage technology.The infrastructure cost is far more substantial than is generally recognized with transformers necessary to handle the surge load and wear and tear on generators that must maintain a 100% backup capacity.
The only renewable technologies that are proving themselves have done so because they actually work.
Solar Hot Water Heaters
Waste Heat Pumps and Cogeneration
Agriculture waste incineration
Hydroelectric
Nuclear.
Only the latter two lend themselves to grid generation.
pat on May 23, 2013 at 9:18 PM
What a bunch of dumbasses.
forest on May 23, 2013 at 9:24 PM
Dear EU,
Sue Michael Mann, name the DNC and Obama as co-conspirtors.
It was/is fraud easy to win. http://www.wattsupwiththat.com
APACHEWHOKNOWS on May 23, 2013 at 9:30 PM
Sanity pops its head out in EU doesn’t like what it sees.
Slowburn on May 23, 2013 at 9:34 PM
Yes, but it’s not just this.
The statist also allow electric and gas companies to charge us more because they’re required to purchase expensive “green” energy.
So, EU prices would look terrible if it was being compared to US prices that weren’t also being artificially increased.
blink on May 23, 2013 at 9:51 PM
Why are you doing all of that math and writing about depreciation and stuff? Liberals don’t understand any of that. They just KNOW that anything labeled renewable or green is good (and they claim that they’re educated for “knowing” this). What more do you want from them?
blink on May 23, 2013 at 9:54 PM
But how much of this “success” is because the US’ terrible regulatory policies have been chasing away CO2 intensive industries?
blink on May 23, 2013 at 9:55 PM
So have the Germans shut down all their nuclear power plants yet? Didn’t Merkel vow to accelerate the phase-out after Japan?
I can’t begin to imagine paying those sorts of prices. Between the high tax rates, gas prices and the costs of electricity – I’m surprised more people aren’t living in cardboard boxes.
Hill60 on May 23, 2013 at 10:07 PM
Europe is such a weird place. All the labor laws that people can’t be fired, and there’s no mobility in the workforce, and they just can’t figure out how to be competitive. It’s not a dynamic place, reading about the travails of the tire factories in France, etc. No wonder the people are so blasé about their professions. They get stuck in the same job for 40 years. I can’t imagine anything worse. They really need to open up and be more dynamic and competitive.
Allahs vulva on May 23, 2013 at 10:14 PM
Who gives a damn about carbon emissions? They have nothing to do with anything about the climate. Stop playing the lefty lines. Carbon emissions are BULLSH!T. Don’t even bother talking about them. It’s bad enought hat Barky and his retard junta are still trying to strangle us with the global warming mumbo jumbo.
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on May 23, 2013 at 10:28 PM
What the Europeans really expected was that the US and Japan would follow them down the yellow brick road and raise our energy prices too. That way they wouldn’t have had any competitive disadvantage.
Steven Den Beste on May 23, 2013 at 10:59 PM
They were DESPERATELY hoping we’d agree to the madness that’s Cap-And-Trade, along with the Kyoto stupidity.
Interestingly, and not reported at all, is that we’re down to 1992 emission levels. NOT because of forcing industry to conform, but by the natural movement by the market to natural gas.
Europe’s only hope is in Eastern Europe, where a Poland or another country doesn’t sign off on this and has shale deposits to develop.
Other than that, they can simply keep complaining.
itsspideyman on May 23, 2013 at 11:02 PM
Them and us.
The liberals have a strict economic view of man when it suits them to show inequality.
The idea that producing more or living in a nation with a budget limit scares them.
The fact that we are hurting our people with DHS and TSA and thousands of agents and soldiers to waste both national and taxpayer treasure is the REAL inconvenient truth for us today. WW II cured Europe of desire for big war plans.
However, Europe never did master cost/benefit analysis but they are about to learn. We know better but keep electing the math and engineering challenged.
Detroit rots, kids are aborted, educations and research projects never finished while both we and Europe mess around on defense with a 14th century culture and shove electric mechanisms into cars before the technology has reasonable environmental benefits.
Europe will get very interesting when they discover they can’t afford to live on engineering which is easily stolen and energy plans which don’t make sense. We have that problem also but have an escape hatch with fossil fuels.
IlikedAUH2O on May 23, 2013 at 11:24 PM
Europe: Well-educated, risk-averse, no ideas.
virgo on May 24, 2013 at 1:50 AM
Cheap energy is what allowed this country to become a superpower. It is hard to believe that the libtards cannot see that cheap engergy = prosperity.
brtex on May 24, 2013 at 9:22 AM
IlikedAUH2O on May 23, 2013 at 11:24 PM
+1
The intellectuals in the western world came to believe they could survive on intellectual property. The Chinese and Koreans have put a big stick in the spokes of that idea.
brtex on May 24, 2013 at 9:25 AM
How much do they pay on average per kilowatt-hour over there, anyway? Consumers, and businesses? The latest deal I signed up for a couple of months ago is 8.1 cents per kWh.
Ward Cleaver on May 24, 2013 at 10:03 AM
What is so freaking irritating is that the US could be in the middle of a massive economic BOOM, instead of the stagnation we’re currently caught in!
So here we have evidence that European countries are looking at the US as a cheaper place to do business because of energy costs. And if it weren’t for the avalanche of rules, regulations and taxes… they would be seriously considering moving here! We could be to Europe what China is to us!
But no… government needs to control every aspect of every aspect and will not untie our hands to compete, and compete well, against the world. Clueless, power-hungry politicians…
dominigan on May 24, 2013 at 10:25 AM
Europe is the Pareto Principle (the 80/20 rule) fully exposed.
80% of the people on the planet are MORONS.
They are in control of the European Union…and many other governments.
They inhabit the UN.
The other 20% are busy learning, inventing and producing to support the 80%.
It won’t last much longer.
The US Government is now completely corrupted…and we know it.
We’re at risk, but so are they.
III/0317
dirtengineer on May 24, 2013 at 11:05 AM
Actually that’s the problem.
Slowburn on May 24, 2013 at 2:51 PM
My dad got a ground source heat pump… but to be fair to him when I asked:
I think his ROI would be break even in about 100 years. But it’s his money.*
From what I read it might be a worthwhile investment IF you do it BEFORE the house is built (over the lifetime of the house). Otherwise it’s a costly toy.
*Mostly. I think he got a tax credit for some of it; so the green energy policy means some of it was your money.
gekkobear on May 24, 2013 at 4:36 PM