I apologize for writing so frequently in recent weeks about the pessimistic views most Americans have about the economy, the negative direction the country is headed and the rock-bottom approval ratings of President Obama and Congress. But it just keeps getting worse.
The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll results released on Tuesday – the day of President Obama’s State of the Union address – found that public attitudes about the economy, the president and Congress have dipped to even lower lows. Here are the highlights of this latest poll.
As President Barack Obama enters his sixth year in the White House, 68% of Americans say the country is either stagnant or worse off since he took office, according to the latest NBC/WSJ poll.
Just 31% say the country is better off, and a deep pessimism continues to fuel the public’s mood. Most respondents used words like “divided,” “troubled,” and “deteriorating” to describe the current state of the nation.
On the eve of Tuesday’s State of the Union (SOTU) address, more than six-in-10 Americans believe that the nation is headed in the wrong direction, and 70% are dissatisfied with the economy. It’s not just Obama under fire – a whopping 81% disapprove of Congress.
Ahead of the president’s Tuesday SOTU speech, the NBC/WSJ poll found that 43% of adults approved of his job performance with 51% disapproving – virtually unchanged from a month ago. Also, for the third-straight survey, those who view Obama negatively (44%) outnumber those who view him positively (42%).
In more tough numbers for the president, only a combined 40% say they are “optimistic and confident” or “satisfied and hopeful” about the president’s remaining time in office. By contrast, a combined 59% say they are “uncertain and wondering” or “pessimistic and worried.”
Yet perhaps Obama’s biggest challenge will be addressing a public that remains sour about the economy and the state of American politics. Only 28% believe the country is headed in the right direction, while 63% say it’s on the wrong track, the same as I have reported recently. What’s more, 71% are dissatisfied with the state of the economy.
And when respondents were asked which one or two words best describe the current state of the nation, the top answers were all negative: “divided” (37%), “troubled” (23%) and “deteriorating” (21%). Those answers were followed by “recovering” (19%), “broken” (14%), and “hopeful” (13%). And just 3% of all respondents picked “strong.”
That pessimism isn’t only directed at the White House. According to the NBC/WSJ poll, just 13% approve of Congress – 1 point off the all-time low in the poll – while 81% disapprove.
The Republican Party’s favorable/unfavorable score stands at an upside-down 24% to 47% rating (versus the Democratic Party’s 37% to 40% favorable/unfavorable score). And a majority of Americans – 51% – say Republicans in Congress are too inflexible in their dealings with Obama, while 39% say the president is too inflexible in dealing with the Republicans.
So in light of these latest disapproval ratings for the economy, the government, the president and Congress, how did Mr. Obama do in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night? Did he manage to change public opinion significantly?
I made myself watch the speech and I don’t think President Obama changed the national mood one iota. I will admit that he gave a very flowery and upbeat speech, despite his bad approval ratings, but that’s what presidents do (thanks to professional speech writers).
As announced in advance of the speech, Mr. Obama made it clear that he plans to bypass Congress and take actions through “Executive Orders” to get his agenda accomplished in the next couple of years. However, Executive Orders are subject to judicial review and may be struck down if deemed by the courts to be unsupported by statute or the Constitution – thank goodness.
The president talked about income inequality, raising the minimum wage and beat-up on Republicans – all of which was expected. But for the most part, nothing was new or particularly different, save for a new IRA-type savings plan for retirement with details to follow. Still, he gave it a good shot, as he always does.
By the end of the speech, he sounded patient rather than promising: “It won’t happen right away, and we won’t agree on everything,” he warned, referring to his efforts to reverse bleak economic trends.
Despite Obama’s flowery rhetoric on Tuesday night, the nation has grown very tired of this weak economy, and more and more Americans are figuring out that Big Government is NOT the answer to our problems. Maybe that’s a good thing.
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