# Poll finds Obama is the worst president since World War II **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 2, 2014, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186 "2014-07-02T13:08:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/241 "2014-08-09T23:58:21Z")
The standard you’ve set is a bit high. Democrats do not “back away” from their President explicitly, because that’s a good way to kneecap your career. But when they make a point of telling us how much they disagree with the President, and that they vote with Republicans more than Democrats, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the message they are trying to send: “Don’t blame me for the President’s actions.” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/242 "2014-08-10T00:09:56Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The standard you’ve set is a bit high. Democrats do not “back away” from their President explicitly, because that’s a good way to kneecap your career. But when they make a point of telling us how much they disagree with the President, and that they vote with Republicans more than Democrats, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the message they are trying to send: “Don’t blame me for the President’s actions.” Not exactly. This is standard procedure for Democratic candidates in red states. Even in 2012, when the president was more popular, red state Democrats routinely said stuff like this. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/243 "2014-08-11T19:34:17Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > This post is also (opinion-based, not fact-based, since we’re talking about far more than 1 or 2 lies) spin on the _fact_ that (according to Politifact) Obama is significantly less dishonest than Romney. This is spin as well, because of possible selection/confirmation bias, as well as my earlier point that Obama’s lies are much bigger than Romney’s, as demonstrated by examples in the thread. Another example is the latest [study (pdf)](http://papers.nber.org/tmp/22808-w20349.pdf) that Obama’s Cash for Clunkers program hurt the auto industry. Is that a lie by Obama? Well, the program didn’t do what Obama thought it would. Like Solyndra, it was something that Obama highlighted and pushed, up to the point where it was clearly a failure, at which point it disappeared into the memory hole. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/244 "2014-08-11T20:42:25Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Another example is the latest [study (pdf)](http://papers.nber.org/tmp/22808-w20349.pdf) that Obama’s Cash for Clunkers program hurt the auto industry. Thanks. Let us know when that paper is peer reviewed and published. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/245 "2014-08-12T04:16:24Z")
This really isn’t all that new either, but it demonstrates that liberals are very far away from persuading the country to see things their way: > **[Running as Dem, sounding like GOP](https://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/2014-elections-democrats-midterms-109893)** > > Many Democrats are trotting out campaign ads that call for more traditionally Republican positions. It’s one thing for Democrats running in red parts of the country to sound like Republicans on the campaign trail. It’s another when Democrats running in purple or even blue territory try to do so. Yet that’s what’s happening in race after race this season. Faced with a treacherous political environment, many Democrats are trotting out campaign ads that call for balanced budgets, tax cuts and other more traditionally GOP positions. Some of them are running in congressional districts that just two years ago broke sharply for President Barack Obama. The Republican-flavored ads provide an early glimpse of how Democrats will wage their 2014 campaign. Democrats, hampered by Obama’s rising unpopularity and the tendency for conservatives to turn out at higher levels than liberals in midterm years, face the reality that swing congressional districts favorable to them in 2012 will be far less so in 2014. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/246 "2014-08-12T11:15:16Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > This really isn’t all that new either, but it demonstrates that liberals are very far away from persuading the country to see things their way: > > [http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/2014-elections-democrats-midterms-109893.html](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/2014-elections-democrats-midterms-109893.html) > > It’s one thing for Democrats running in red parts of the country to sound like Republicans on the campaign trail. It’s another when Democrats running in purple or even blue territory try to do so. > > Yet that’s what’s happening in race after race this season. > > Faced with a treacherous political environment, many Democrats are trotting out campaign ads that call for balanced budgets, tax cuts and other more traditionally GOP positions. Some of them are running in congressional districts that just two years ago broke sharply for President Barack Obama. > > The Republican-flavored ads provide an early glimpse of how Democrats will wage their 2014 campaign. Democrats, hampered by Obama’s rising unpopularity and the tendency for conservatives to turn out at higher levels than liberals in midterm years, face the reality that swing congressional districts favorable to them in 2012 will be far less so in 2014. Can you please learn how to use the friggin’ QUOTE function, or just put " " around stuff you pull word-for-word from a link? For chrissake! ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/247 "2014-08-12T11:18:42Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > This really isn’t all that new either, but it demonstrates that liberals are very far away from persuading the country to see things their way: > > [http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/2014-elections-democrats-midterms-109893.html](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/2014-elections-democrats-midterms-109893.html) Another bogus bag of punditry nonsense from Politico. Promoting small businesses? Fighting overspending? Better border security? These aren’t Republican issues. _Everyone_ supports this stuff, and they always have! Pelosi supports this stuff! No one says “wasteful spending is good!”. No one says “we need to fight small businesses!”. Utter baloney. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/248 "2014-08-12T11:30:19Z")
Democrats have actually established that they love wasteful spending. It’s like a piggy bank that they can use to fund other things. That’s where they got the money to fund ACA: they let wasteful spending in Medicare continue for 40 years until they wanted to use it for something else. Better border security? If Democrats supported it, it wouldn’t be a “compromise” to do border security for amnesty. We’d all just agree to pass a border security bill as a standalone measure. But I guess like wasteful spending, they are withholding support for needed changes until they can trade it for something. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/249 "2014-08-12T11:41:53Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Democrats have actually established that they love wasteful spending. Bullshit. Stop listening to Hannity. Hannity is wrong and a liar. > [@](#): > > Better border security? If Democrats supported it, it wouldn’t be a “compromise” to do border security for amnesty. We’d all just agree to pass a border security bill as a standalone measure. Not necessarily. Nuance exists. Issues are not s always implistic enough that 4th graders (and Hannity) can understand them. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/250 "2014-08-12T12:09:13Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Nuance exists. Issues are not s always [s]implistic enough that 4th graders (and Hannity) can understand them. I object to the implied insult of 4th graders. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/251 "2014-08-12T22:19:57Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Bullshit. Stop listening to Hannity. Hannity is wrong and a liar. > > Not necessarily. Nuance exists. Issues are not s always implistic enough that 4th graders (and Hannity) can understand them. Now you’re just spinning. Democrats hold up necessary change until they need to trade it for something. They did it with wasteful Medicare spending, they are doing it with border security. This is not compromise. Compromise is when you give the other side something they want in exchange for something you want. It’s not giving them something both sides already want in exchange for something just Democrats want. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/252 "2014-08-12T22:26:12Z")
On the Senate immigration bill, the Democrats have given the GOP NOTHING. Unless it’s true they don’t support improved enforcement. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/253 "2014-08-12T23:09:53Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > On the Senate immigration bill, the Democrats have given the GOP NOTHING. Unless it’s true they don’t support improved enforcement. The GOP supports deporting everyone, there is NOTHING to give them. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/254 "2014-08-13T00:22:12Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Now you’re just spinning. Democrats hold up necessary change until they need to trade it for something. They did it with wasteful Medicare spending, they are doing it with border security. This is not compromise. Compromise is when you give the other side something they want in exchange for something you want. It’s not giving them something both sides already want in exchange for something just Democrats want. This is a false view of the political situation. _No politicians_ supports wasteful spending – wasteful spending is (tautologically) _wasteful_. Any spending they’ll support is (to them) absolutely _not_ wasteful. It might be your (and Hannity’s) opinion that Democrats support wasteful spending, but this is just opinion. _Stop making bullshit assertions like that as if they are factual_. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/255 "2014-08-19T23:19:19Z")
Apparently my political analysis isn’t as bad as you think: > [@](#): > > With Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, sitting a few feet away, Mr. Reid complained that Senate Republicans were spitefully blocking the confirmation of dozens of Mr. Obama’s nominees to serve as ambassadors. He expected that the president would back him up and urge Mr. McConnell to relent. > > Mr. Obama quickly dismissed the matter. > > “You and Mitch work it out,” Mr. Obama said coolly, cutting off any discussion. > > Mr. Reid seethed quietly for the rest of the meeting, according to four separate accounts provided by people who spoke with him about it. After his return to the Capitol that afternoon, Mr. Reid told other senators and his staff members that he was astonished by how disengaged the president seemed. After all, these were Mr. Obama’s own ambassadors who were being blocked by Mr. McConnell, and Secretary of State John Kerry had been arguing for months that getting them installed was an urgent necessity for the administration. > > But the impression the president left with Mr. Reid was clear: Capitol Hill is not my problem. > > To Democrats in Congress who have worked with Mr. Obama, the indifference conveyed to Mr. Reid, one of the president’s most indispensable supporters, was frustratingly familiar. In one sense, Mr. Obama’s response was a reminder of what made him such an appealing figure in the first place: his almost innate aversion to the partisan squabbles that have left Americans so jaded and disgruntled with their political system. But nearly six years into his term, with his popularity at the lowest of his presidency, Mr. Obama appears remarkably distant from his own party on Capitol Hill, with his long neglect of would-be allies catching up to him. > > In interviews, nearly two dozen Democratic lawmakers and senior congressional aides suggested that Mr. Obama’s approach has left him with few loyalists to effectively manage the issues erupting abroad and at home and could imperil his efforts to leave a legacy in his final stretch in office. > > Grumbling by lawmakers about a president is nothing unusual. But what is striking now is the way prominent Democrats’ views of Mr. Obama’s shortcomings are spilling out into public, and how resigned many seem that the relationship will never improve. In private meetings, Mr. Reid’s chief of staff, David Krone, has voiced regular dismay to lawmakers and top aides about White House operations and competency across a range of issues, according to several Democrats on Capitol Hill. > **[Obama Is Seen as Frustrating His Own Party (Published 2014)](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/us/aloof-obama-is-frustrating-his-own-party.html?_r=0)** > > President Obama appears remarkably distant from his own party on Capitol Hill, Democrats there say, leaving him with few loyalists as issues erupt abroad and at home. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/256 "2014-08-19T23:22:12Z")
Now I suppose you could say that Democrats are just whining the way you say Republicans are. But this goes straight to how badly Obama sucks at diplomacy. He doesn’t strike fear into his enemies, he doesn’t win over his enemies either, and he doesn’t give his friends the impression that he’s interested in them. Plus they question his competency, but that’s nothing new. Everyone but you knows he’s incompetent. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/257 "2014-08-19T23:56:21Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Now I suppose you could say that Democrats are just whining the way you say Republicans are. But this goes straight to how badly Obama sucks at diplomacy. He doesn’t strike fear into his enemies, he doesn’t win over his enemies either, and he doesn’t give his friends the impression that he’s interested in them. > > Plus they question his competency, but that’s nothing new. Everyone but you knows he’s incompetent. Again, the link you posted does not support your Hannity-esque argument. You’re obsessed with the man, and you search for story after story to try and find the ones that might just portray Obama in a bad light. It’s pretty pathetic, dude. Your political analysis is poor and your objectivity is nonexistant. “Everyone but you knows he’s incompetent.” Dude, everybody but you knows that your political posts show the objectivity and understanding of Hannity’s 3rd grade son. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/258 "2014-08-20T00:00:14Z")
I don’t search. They tend to come up pretty prominently without searching. You must be avoiding them to not notice them. From the small print at the bottom of the article: > [@](#): > > A version of this article appears in print on August 19, 2014, on page A1 You know what A1 is? Front page. LIke I said, you must be intentionally avoiding these types of stories, because they are all over the place. As for your own analysis, it’s nonsense. The story isn’t ambiguous. He has no relationship with Congressional Democrats, he’s disengaged, and yet more people question his competence. That’s not my analysis, that’s what the FRONT PAGE of the &(@(\*)%! New York Times actually SAYS. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/259 "2014-08-20T00:10:30Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I don’t search. They tend to come up pretty prominently without searching. You must be avoiding them to not notice them. There are stories supporting _every possible point of view by anyone_. > [@](#): > > The story isn’t ambiguous. He has no relationship with Congressional Democrats, he’s disengaged, and yet more people question his competence. That’s not my analysis, that’s what the FRONT PAGE of the &(@(\*)%! New York Times actually SAYS. So there are thirdhand accounts of some guy or guys questioning the White House’s competency? That’s been true of _every president ever._ Some politicians are whining about not getting what they want? That’s been true of _every president ever._ This is fucking politics. These things are not new in politics, even if the Times tries to pretend they’re breaking something here. Dog bites man, dude. Just admit it. You’re obsessed with Obama, and you’ll inflate the tiniest thing to make him look bad. Story after story is showing how effective the ACA is, so you’ve abandoned that. You’ll find some stupid “if the election were re-held today” bogus poll, and cling to that for a few days. And now, typical political whining, and somehow this is supposed to be a huge new thing. Just give it up. Find something else to occupy your time. You’re just very, very bad at negative politics. It’s gotten so pathetic that you don’t even try as much to criticize the things that Obama actually does – you’ll just find little snippets about how random political whiner X says Obama is a big meanie. **adaher** posts pointless screed criticizing Obama for some silly minutiae, and/or factually incorrect nonsense. Dog bites man. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186/260 "2014-08-20T00:22:07Z")
The article addresses that too. Congressmen always gripe about Presidents. Just usually not in such a way that it goes public. Glad to see that you consider the Senate Majority Leader a “random political whiner”. At least we agree on something. At this point, you’re just in denial. I don’t look for “snippets”. All I do is post the major, front page or near-front page stories that come out about his incompetence and disengagement. Plenty of cites, plenty of reliable sources. After all, this is the “poll finds Obama is the worst President” thread. Since very few anti-Obama threads get posted on SDMB, it’s the best place to compile the reasons why he’s so poorly thought of by the public. I mean, you do want to know the reasons, don’t you? Oh wait, you think his unpopularity is just a passing phase that all Presidents go through. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-finds-obama-is-the-worst-president-since-world-war-ii/692186.md?page=14)