Polling Memo: Obama’s Issue Ratings Plunge

Obama on Key Issues: Plummeting…

In the past 2 week, Obama’s job approval as President of the United States has seen a slight recovery.  What hasn’t recovered however, are his approval ratings on the issues voters care most about.  Since January, cumulatively, President Obama has seen a net negative movement of 45% on the economy, the budget deficit, healthcare policy, Social Security & Medicare, and Taxes according to new data from CNN.  So, what gives?

The Economy:

Today, President Obama sits at minus 10 (44%-54%) on the issue voters consistently care most about, the economy.  That’s a 7% net drop since January when Obama was only marginally underwater for the first time since September of 2009.  Why?  Maybe it has something to do with “Friday’s disastrous employment report, which showed a gain of just 88,000 jobs, down from 236,000 last month….[and the troubling fact that] the percentage of people in the workforce dropped to 63.6 percent, the lowest level since 1979.”¹

The Federal Budget Deficit:

Since January, another 4% have moved against the President on his handling of the budget deficit leaving him with a personal deficit of 20 percent, 38%-58% respectively.  Maybe this has something to do with the White House’s confirmation that President Obama’s Budget will never balance or the fact that in just four months, our debt has gone up by nearly $400 billion.

Healthcare Policy:

Remember, in February when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admitted to “rising premiums” or in March where a study showed Obamacare would raise claims an average of 32%?  Maybe all these broken promises are why President Obama sat comfortably at 50% approval on healthcare policy in January but finds himself 10 points (44%-54%) in the red today, a net negative movement of 11 points.

Social Security & Medicare:

Last week, Washington Post reported risky business in the President’s budget as it “would cut entitlements in exchange for tax increases.”  It comes as no surprise then to see his approval ratings nearly swap going from plus 6 in January to minus 8 today, totaling a net movement of 14% against the President on Social Security & Medicare.

Taxes:

To conclude, let’s not forget about the payroll tax that took effect in January or several of the other taxes infused in Obamacare which took President Obama from plus 3 on taxes in January to minus 6 today (46%-52%).  That’s another net 9% swing against Obama.

POLLSTER: ORC International for CNN

DATE: Conducted 4/5-7/2013; Released 4/8/13

SAMPLE: Sampled 1,012 Adults; MoE ±3.0%

SOURCE: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2013/images/04/08/rel4a.pdf

¹   http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/march-2013-jobs-report-89668.html?hp=t1_3