The Real State Of The Union, What Americans Think, Part 3: Obama Care Stinks, Congress Stinks, Job Creation Stinks, This Presidential Administration Stinks

This is the third and final post we are doing relative to what Americans think about the state and direction of the country. It is next to impossible to ascertain where the country is today and what is really going on since we know now that this Presidential administration has been lying and deceiving us for years, this President was awarded the worst lie of 2013 by the Washington Post, and the mainstream media, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum, present only the positive news on their political allies.

Thus, we have decided to go to Gallup, Pew, and other respected public opinion survey authorities to find out what is really going on with ordinary Americans. As we have seen in the first two discussions we have had in the past two days on this topic, Americans are not happy, they are not optimistic, and they are very angry about where the country is, where it is likely going, and those in Washington that got us where we are.

Those pessimism and anger undertones are likely to continue today:

1) A recent poll of a cross section of Americans revealed how unhappy they are with this Presidential administration, one year into its second term. The poll was conducted by the highly regarded magazine, The Economist, in cooperation with YouGov.com. Their findings included the following details:

• 71% of Obama voters said they regret voting for the President in the last presidential election.
• An amazing 55% of self identified Democrats also regret voting for him. 
• 84% of women and 61% of men surveyed regret voting for him.
• The poll also simulated the last Presidential election and found that Romney would have won if the election was run today, with 55 million votes vs. 52 million votes for Obama.

Two points to be made here. Americans are fed up with this administration as the major problems of our times still exist while the many promises and vows of this President have not come close to realization and resolving any of the major issues of our times. Second, as the level of disillusionment grows with this Presidential administration, the quicker it grows into a lame duck status, making it less and less effective going forward, as if that was even possible.

2) Quinnipiac University’s new poll verifies these findings above and how Americans’ opinions relative to Obama are at an all time low:

• A majority of those surveyed characterize Obama as “incompetent,” “a weak leader” and oblivious to individuals’ real problems and needs.
• 39% have a negative view of his handling of the economy.
• 36% have a negative view of his handling of health care.
• 40% have a negative view of his handling of foreign policy.
• 39% have a negative view of his handling of Iran.
• Over three quarters of those surveyed believe the economy is “poor,” while only 28% believe the economy is getting better.

Strong negative views and opinions on how the President is doing his job, a realistic view of our sickly economy, and the lies finally catching up with the President. Yep, sounds about right.

3) According to a recent Marist/McClatchy, when asked how they would grade they would give elected officials in Washington:

• 31% of registered voters (41% of Independent registered voters) rated them an “F”
• 31% (30% of Independents) rated them a “D”
• 27% (23% of Independents) rated them a “C”
• 10% (5% of Independents) said a “B”
• A whopping 1% (the same percentage of Independents) said an “A.”

Thus, only about 11% of America think that the Washington political class is doing a good or better job. Pathetic ratings for a  pathetic performing set of people.

4) The Economist recently surveyed a set of Americans and asked them whether President Obama, Republicans in Congress and Democrats in Congress were doing enough on job creation:

• 68% of adults said the President was not doing enough, 21% said he was and 11% weren’t sure. 
• 76% of adults said Republicans in Congress weren’t doing enough, 13% weren’t sure and 11% said they were. 
• 74% of adults said Democrats in Congress weren’t doing enough, 14% said they were and 12% were unsure.

Thus, failing grades all around for job creation.

5) A whole slew of polling firms and polls track the President’s approval rating:

• A recent survey by RealClearPolitics found that the President’s latest job approval rating was 42.3% while his disapproval rating was 53.0%.
• The Economist poll found a 42% approval rating and 53% disapproval rating.
• The Ipsos/Reuters poll found a 40% of approval rating (26% of Independents) and 54% disapproval rating (66% of Independents). 
• The Marist/McClatchy poll found a 42% approval rating among registered voters (35% of Independent registered voters) and 52% disapproval rating (58% of Independents).
• The Gallup poll found a 41% approval rating and a 51% disapproval rating. tracks President Obama’s job approval on a weekly basis. 
• The interesting trend is at this time last year the numbers were basically reversed according to Gallup: 52% approved and 42% disapproved.
• The Rasmussen poll found a 49% approval rating and a 50% disapproval rating. Similar to Gallup, last year at this time, the President’s approval was 54% and his disapproval 45%.

With an approval rating below 50% across all independent tracking polls and opinion surveys, and trending downwards, and having basically been named political liar of the year by the Washington Post for 2013, the lame duck status continues to be a real possibility in the eyes of the country with almost three years still left in this administration.

6) About the only good news for the President is that his approval ratings are higher than the approval ratings of Congress, a classic “queen of the pigs” situation:

• The recent RealClearPolitics poll found that Congress had an approval rating of 12.3% and a disapproval rating of 81.7%.
• The Economist poll found a 7% disapproval rate and 71% disapproval rate.
• The Gallup poll found a 12% approval rate and an 83% disapproval rate

You have to really try to be viewed so negatively across all of the polls. This is a clear example of how the political class has hijacked our election processes since with these approval ratings, and their dismal actual legislative performance, not a single incumbent Washington politician should ever get reelected if basically nine out of ten Americans think they are doing a lousy job.

7) As to whether of not the country is heading in the right direction:

• The recent RealClearPolitics poll found that 29.6% of those surveyed think the country is headed in the right direction while 63.6% think it is headed in the wrong direction
• The Economist poll found that 30% think the country is headed in the right direction while 59% think it is headed in the wrong direction. 
• The Ipsos/Reuters poll found that 23% of adults (11% of Independents) think the country is headed in the right direction and 62% (78% of Independents) think it is headed in the wrong direction
• The Marist/McClatchy poll found that 33% of registered voters (26% of Independent registered voters) think the country is headed in the right direction and 64% (72% of Independents) think it is headed in the wrong direction.
• The trend is not good when the about two out of three Americans on average think the country is not headed in the right direction. Makes if very difficult to change the mindset and reality of the country starting on such a negative note. 
• Of course, given the low approval ratings of the President and Congress it is not a surprise that the country thinks we are heading in the wrong direction when we think very little of those that should be leading the country in the right direction.

8) Regarding the state of the economy and jobs:

• The Gallup “Economic Confidence Index” recently dipped to -18 for the week ending Feb. 9 — the lowest weekly reading so far in 2014. 
• According to the Economist, 37% think the economy is stuck in neutral, 36% of adults think the economy is getting worse and 22% think it is getting better.
• President Obama approval rating on the economy and jobs is only 41% as measured by The Economist and also 41% as measured by the Marist/McClatchey poll. 

9) And finally, what the latest survey from The Economist find out about Americans view on Obama Care:

• 44% of adults think the law should be repealed; 28% think it should be expanded; 17% are not sure what should be done; and 11% think it is should be kept as is.
• 25% think Obama Care is a complete failure, 22% think it is more of a failure than a success, 19% think it is equal parts a success and a failure, 13% think it is more of a success than a failure, 13% think it is too early to tell and 2% think it is a complete success. Thus, about three out of four Americans have some sort of a negative view with almost 50% having a rather strong view that it is a failure.
• 37% think the Obama Care has hurt the economy a lot, 22% think it has helped the economy somewhat, 17% think it has hurt the economy somewhat, 13% are unsure and 11% think the Affordable Care Act has helped the economy a lot.
• 49% of uninsured adults, the target market for the legislation, are not sure the individual mandate will compel them to buy health insurance, 28% said they are more likely to pay the fine, 15% said they are likely to buy insurance and 9% have already bought insurance because of the mandate.
• 55% of adults think employers will cut jobs or reduce hours because of the employer mandate, 24% are unsure and 21% say employers will not cut jobs or reduce hours.
• 41% of adults approve of the President’s handling of the situation.

Thus, it appears from these poll results that just about everything the current political class is involved in, health care, jobs, leading the country, etc., is being done in a lousy manner by both the President and Congress. There is no leadership, there are no strategic plans, there is decreasing HOPE, and there has been no CHANGE, just the same old, selfish ineffective politics.

We spend trillions of dollars every year via taxes and never see any resolution of any issues, never mind the major issues of our times. We have a set of people in Washington that are out of touch with reality and the issues facing Americans, a set of people who are only concerned with their own self enrichment and perpetual reelection to jobs that the are very poor at executing.

This is what passes for leadership in Washington today and that is why we see the negative results in every poll that is taken. And that is why we need you to join the cause for term limits now at the following site because, really, given our opinions and feelings about Washington incumbents, how much worse could it get if we dumped them all out of office after one term:

www.howmuchworsecoulditget.com

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:

www.loathemygovernment.com

It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.

Please visit the following sites for freedom:

Term Limits Now: http://www.howmuchworsecoulditget.com
http://www.reason.com
http://www.cato.org
http://www.robertringer.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w