The Obama Slide

“It is simply wrong for commentators to continue to focus on President Barack Obama’s high levels of popularity.”

So write pollsters Doug Schoen and Scott Rasmussen in noting that Obama’s approval ratings are sliding. The numbers, 56 percent approval vs. 43 percent disapproval, are no doubt strong. But after unceasing positive coverage on everything from President Obama’s coronation — I mean, inauguration — to the Michelle Obama “gun show” that would make even Ron Burgundy jealous, they also happen to be lower than President George W. Bush’s approval rating at a similar period in 2001.

As Schoen and Rasmussen note, Obama has lost “virtually all of his Republican support and a good part of his Independent support.”

This should not be terribly surprising, given the lack of messaging consistency we’ve seen from the Obama administration. When the Dow Jones plummets below 7,000, the president tells us the Dow is merely a political tracking poll; when it’s up, then it’s something to be highlighted. One day, Obama warns the nation that we face the potential for long-term economic peril; a few days later, not so much — things are not as bad as we thought. In the 2008 campaign, Obama was merciless on Sen. John McCain for saying the fundamentals of the economy were strong; now the Obama administration agrees — just as, apparently, it now agrees with portions of McCain’s healthcare proposal from the campaign. While decrying the number of earmarks in the omnibus appropriations bill, Obama nevertheless signed the bill into law (privately, of course). One year after vowing not to.

Obama’s approval rating was always artificially high. Even the most partisan Democrat would tell you those numbers were never going to remain at those levels. But after a series of missteps and reversals, more and more Americans — who, as the polling demonstrates, absolutely wanted Obama to succeed — are trying to reconcile the differences between Candidate Obama and President Obama.

Candidate Obama’s ability to maintain a disciplined and consistent message was astounding. Since taking over the White House, however, that has faltered. The anecdotal evidence we’ve seen, in addition to the empirical polling data, while not something to cause Democrats to panic, is at minimum a cause for concern.