# How do you think the "average voter" sees the events of the Obama admin. so far? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 13, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-think-the-average-voter-sees-the-events-of-the-obama-admin-so-far/485638 "2009-02-13T02:33:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-think-the-average-voter-sees-the-events-of-the-obama-admin-so-far/485638/1 "2009-02-13T02:33:15Z")
Politically, I mean. Because I know what partisans say: “Republicans are just trying to screw Obama and the country over because they can’t stand someone pointing out the mess they made over the last eight years.” “Obama is showing just how incompetent and left-wing he is.” But what gets more fuzzy is when those same people try to apply it to the population at large: “I don’t think anyone thinks less of Obama now unless they already voted against him in the last election.” “I think the veneer is starting to crack, and people are starting to have second thoughts over the man they voted into office.” How much do you think the events of the past three weeks, good and ill, have, and will, affect Obama in the eyes of the people? After all, even if there’s four years until the next Presidential election (and, as I’ve pointed out before, who was still talking about Jocelyn Elders, Lani Guenier {sp}, and Kimba Wood in '96?), there’s only two until the next Congressional elections. And, political capital is always good when twisting arms to get what you want. I mean, no one seems to be polling about the nomination difficulties (and why would they?), and not liking the stimulus doesn’t _necessarily_ harm to Obama. Any thoughts or analysis, folks? ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-think-the-average-voter-sees-the-events-of-the-obama-admin-so-far/485638/2 "2009-02-13T02:59:01Z")
According to Gallup: [Stimulus support edges higher](http://www.gallup.com/poll/114577/Stimulus-Support-Edges-Higher.aspx) and is now at 59 percent. Scroll down to the partisan breakdown and you’ll see that, while Democratic approval has gone up to 82 percent, independent support is essentially steady-state, and Republican support has actually risen 4 percentage points. Gallup’s bottom line: > [@](#): > > Obama’s salesmanship appears to have been effective in recent days, helping to build public support for the economic stimulus package, and thus push Congress to pass a final version by his desired Presidents Day deadline. At the least, he has stemmed any erosion of support in the face of some spirited conservative opposition. While most of the increase in support is among Democrats, the plan retains solid support from independents and has not lost any ground recently among Republicans. > > Although the stimulus plan is purportedly being passed to address the nation’s economic problems, Americans’ perceptions of the economy – and of their own personal financial situations – have little bearing on their support for it. Political orientation is the overriding factor. Judging by the [three-day rolling average](http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Job-Approval.aspx) Gallup is posting of Obama’s overall approval ratings, as of today’s date, while he’s down a bit from the inaugural bump, he’s still holding his popularity with almost two-thirds of those polled; in fact there’s a slight upward trend in approval, and downward trend in disapproval, over the last few days. Oh, and [Rasmussen](http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_approval_index) as of February 12 is showing a definite bounce in Obama’s popularity. > [@](#): > > Seventy-three percent (73%) of Democrats Strongly Approve of the President’s performance along with 10% of Republicans and 37% of those not affiliated with either major political party. Since Monday, those numbers reflect a seven-point gain among Democrats, a one-point decline among Republicans, and an eight-point gain among unaffiliated voters. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-think-the-average-voter-sees-the-events-of-the-obama-admin-so-far/485638/3 "2009-02-13T03:57:15Z")
For what it’s worth, here’s how I would grade Pres. Obama’s performance so far. 1. FDR - “We have nothing to fear but fear itself” Obama - “If my stimulus bill isn’t passed immediately we may have a disaster from which we will never recover.” Grade D- 2. Obama - No former lobbyists in my administration! News Item 2/11/09: The US Senate approved William Lynn, a former Raytheon Co lobbyist, to be deputy secretary of defense after he received a special White House waiver from strict new rules Grade D- 3. Chosing all those income tax cheaters for high posts. Then saying in the case of the worst one “I’m absolutely behind him.” This was just before Daschel had the grace to withdraw his name from nomination. Grade F 4. Issuing an executive order limiting the pay of CEOs of banks on the bailout to $500,000 and no bonuses or golden parachutes until the government is paid back. Grade A+ Oh well, I guess one out of four isn’t too bad. And I do think that Michelle on the cover of Vogue looks great! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-think-the-average-voter-sees-the-events-of-the-obama-admin-so-far/485638/4 "2009-02-13T12:20:26Z")
Most of the people who voted for Obama don’t seem to be very aware of what is happening in Washington - 57% of them did not know that the Democrats controlled Congress for the last two years. Accordingly, for them, I suspect they will simply accept whatever their friends tell them as gospel, and figure Obama is doing everything right. But nothing of much significance has happened yet. Ask again in a year. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-think-the-average-voter-sees-the-events-of-the-obama-admin-so-far/485638/5 "2009-02-13T14:28:19Z")
What’s an “average voter”? Am I one? Are you one? Do you have to live in Iowa to be one? > [@Shodan](#): > > Most of the people who voted for Obama don’t seem to be very aware of what is happening in Washington - 57% of them did not know that the Democrats controlled Congress for the last two years. “Control” is questionable - a slim majority in the Senate which couldn’t come close to overriding a veto. Not surprising that little got done. I’m no fan of the Democratic leadership in Congress but I’m not sure there’s much they could have done the past two years. It’d be nice if they stopped farting around _now_, however. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-think-the-average-voter-sees-the-events-of-the-obama-admin-so-far/485638/6 "2009-02-13T15:37:28Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Most of the people who voted for Obama don’t seem to be very aware of what is happening in Washington - 57% of them did not know that the Democrats controlled Congress for the last two years. Accordingly, for them, I suspect they will simply accept whatever their friends tell them as gospel, and figure Obama is doing everything right. > > But nothing of much significance has happened yet. Ask again in a year. > > Regards, > Shodan Actually some drop dead repubs do not know enough about politics to keep from making absurd statements. A narrow edge in congress was irrelevant. There are 3 ,count them 3, branches involved in legislation. The president, who was a repub, initiates policies and his people formulate his twisted dreams into policy. Who was in control of the senate? Two out of 3 repub. Any idea who set policy? You should be embarrassed to say the dems were in charge in Washington. ---
**Author:** ![kenner116](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@kenner116](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenner116)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-think-the-average-voter-sees-the-events-of-the-obama-admin-so-far/485638/7 "2009-02-13T15:51:40Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Most of the people who voted for Obama don’t seem to be very aware of what is happening in Washington - 57% of them did not know that the Democrats controlled Congress for the last two years. I don’t doubt that number, but it would be nice to compare that with McCain voters. I bet they were similarly unaware of who controlled Congress. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-think-the-average-voter-sees-the-events-of-the-obama-admin-so-far/485638/8 "2009-02-13T15:56:10Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Actually some drop dead repubs do not know enough about politics to keep from making absurd statements. A narrow edge in congress was irrelevant. There are 3 ,count them 3, branches involved in legislation. The president, who was a repub, initiates policies and his people formulate his twisted dreams into policy. > Who was in control of the senate? Two out of 3 repub. Any idea who set policy? You should be embarrassed to say the dems were in charge in Washington. I’m not sure if you’re right or wrong, because your incoherence gives you a shield of vagueness. **Shodan** said: “57% of them did not know that the Democrats controlled Congress for the last two years.” I don’t know about the 57% figure, but it’s obviously completely accurate to say the Democrats were the majority party in both houses of Congress for the last two years. You then say, in rebuttal: > [@gonzomax](#): > > Who was in control of the senate? Two out of 3 repub. Any idea who set policy? You should be embarrassed to say the dems were in charge in Washington. The answer is: the Democrats were in control of the Senate the last two years. Harry Reid ( **D** -Nevada) became the Majority Leader following the 2006 elections. Nancy Pelosi ( **D** -California(8th)) was the Speaker of the House. See? Both of them are DEMOCRATS. Now, perhaps your argument rested on this line: “A narrow edge in congress was irrelevant.” I can think of some reasons you might claim this, but I’ve no particular interest in making your arguments for you - although someone needs to help you, it’s true, since the arguments you’ve offered here are based on statements that are false. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-think-the-average-voter-sees-the-events-of-the-obama-admin-so-far/485638/9 "2009-02-13T16:07:53Z")
> [@kenner116](#): > > I don’t doubt that number, but it would be nice to compare that with McCain voters. I bet they were similarly unaware of who controlled Congress. I was asked that before. As a matter of fact, a strong majority ([63%](http://www.howobamagotelected.com/#wilson)) of McCain voters knew who controlled Congress. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-think-the-average-voter-sees-the-events-of-the-obama-admin-so-far/485638/10 "2009-02-13T16:42:28Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I’m not sure if you’re right or wrong, because your incoherence gives you a shield of vagueness. > > **Shodan** said: “57% of them did not know that the Democrats controlled Congress for the last two years.” I don’t know about the 57% figure, but it’s obviously completely accurate to say the Democrats were the majority party in both houses of Congress for the last two years. > > You then say, in rebuttal: > > The answer is: the Democrats were in control of the Senate the last two years. Harry Reid ( **D** -Nevada) became the Majority Leader following the 2006 elections. Nancy Pelosi ( **D** -California(8th)) was the Speaker of the House. See? Both of them are DEMOCRATS. > > Now, perhaps your argument rested on this line: “A narrow edge in congress was irrelevant.” I can think of some reasons you might claim this, but I’ve no particular interest in making your arguments for you - although someone needs to help you, it’s true, since the arguments you’ve offered here are based on statements that are false. You are counting independents as dems. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-think-the-average-voter-sees-the-events-of-the-obama-admin-so-far/485638/11 "2009-02-13T17:04:23Z")
Yes, this [Weekly State of the Nation Poll](http://www.dailykos.com/weeklytrends) (by Research 2000) is from Daily Kos. Yes, I know that’s a hyper-partisan site. Nonetheless, I find the trend lines for “Congressional leadership”, “Congressional Dems & GOP”, and “Dem & GOP Party” to show a notable consistency, and one which doesn’t look good for the Republicans. Since the OP’s question is how the average voter sees the events of the Obama administration so far, I would tend to rely more on the various polls I’ve cited in this thread, which are all holding at generally the same levels, and less on the anecdotal impressions of individual Dopers. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-think-the-average-voter-sees-the-events-of-the-obama-admin-so-far/485638/12 "2009-02-13T17:28:43Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > You are counting independents as dems. Yes, that’s true, but both independents caucus with the Democrats. One of them was the Democratic candidate for vice-president in 2000. Both of them are counted as Democrats for the purposes of committee assignments. Their votes support the Democratic control of the chamber. This is why it is correct to say that Democrats controlled the chamber. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-think-the-average-voter-sees-the-events-of-the-obama-admin-so-far/485638/13 "2009-02-13T17:33:49Z")
I don’t think the ‘average voter’ has enough data to go on yet. I suppose it depends (initially) on the stimulus package and it’s immediate effects. Obama has staked a lot on that and it doesn’t seem universally popular right now. A lot will hinge on that. Other than that, he hasn’t done a lot yet (again, it’s ONLY FEBRUARY GUYS! Sheesh). -XT