Earth Moving Under Obama’s Feet

posted at 1:35 pm on December 8, 2009 by Howard Portnoy
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“So far, our take is that he’s positioning himself to be on a coin.” The speaker who wishes he could take back that oh-so-memorable quote is the incisive political commentator Jon Stewart. The recipient of the intended high praise was of course Barack Obama, the man who by his own lights would stop the rise of the oceans, part the seas, leap tall buildings at a single bound.

Stewart made his comment back in July, when the bloom was still on the rose among believers. He hasn’t followed up on it since, even though Obama has done some record-setting among U.S. presidents. His singular achievement is reflected in the data below, courtesy of the Gallup Organization.

The stats show conclusively that Obama’s approval numbers have evaporated faster than those of any elected president between the second and third quarters of his term, dating back to 1953.

These numbers date back to September. Since that time, the slide has continued, culminating today in his lowest aggregate poll numbers yet. According to Real Clear Politics, 48.6 percent of Americans poll like the job he’s doing, while 45.3 percent do not. Gallup has him today at 50 percent, CNN/Opinion Research at 48, Rasmussen at 47, and Marist and FOX News tied at 46.

Oh, to be a fly on the White House wall!

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