A Quinnipiac poll released this week shows Obama’s approval ratings are at their lowest since he assumed office – 44 percent. The poll not only reveals who no longer approves of the president, but also the larger picture of the current political landscape.
In 2008, President Obama was sworn in with high approval ratings. That lasted for about six months – until he began to vigorously pursue health care reform. One year ago – in July 2009 – his poll numbers began to decline. And that trend has continued ever since.
And according to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, the largest decrease in approval has been among white, senior citizens, independents, and men.
The president also lost white, evangelical Christian supporters. In July 2009, 35 percent of that group approved of his performance. Now, that figure is down to 19 percent.
The WSJ reports that those numbers may be the least of the president’s problems.
“What is most problematic for the president is the drop among whites, men and political independents. Those demographic groups gave him greater support in 2008 than they had most Democratic presidential candidates over the past few decades.
Simply put, when Democrats carry or are competitive among whites, independents and men, they win the White House.
When they don’t, they don’t. He [Obama] won the White House because, the exit polling showed, he got 49% of men, 43% of whites and 52% of independents. Each of these three groups individually makes up a larger share of the electorate than blacks and young people combined.”
The 2012 election is still a long way off, but the poll suggests that President Obama may need to rethink his strategy if he hopes to win re-election.
