Oil spill drags down Obama as voters shift away from president’s policy positions, new poll shows

Of those who said they will vote in this fall’s midterm elections, 32 percent said they will cast their ballot with the intent to show opposition to Obama, while 27 percent said they would be showing support for Obama. This is a reversal from January of this year, when only 27 percent said they would be demonstrating opposition to the president and 37 percent said they would be demonstrating support.

On other issues of importance to Obama, he is also on the retreat. The country remains overwhelmingly concerned with reducing the federal budget deficit rather than spending money to stimulate the economy: 63 percent said they worry about keeping the deficit down even if that means it takes longer for the economy to recover while 34 percent said the government should try to do more to boost the economy even if that means larger deficits.

And since Obama has taken office, opinions about the role of government have shifted to the right. The number of people who believe government should do more to “solve problems and help meet the needs of people” has dropped from 51 percent to 47 percent. The number of people who believe government is doing “too many things better left to businesses and individuals” has spiked up from 40 percent in February 2009 to 49 percent in the most recent survey.

There were some minor bright spots for Obama in the poll. More Americans still blame former President George W. Bush for the economy’s troubles than blame him, by 28 to 20 percent. And while Obama’s health law remains unpopular, the president has managed to reduce the number of people who oppose it, down to 44 percent from 48 percent in March.

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