Independents Oppose Obama's Re-Election, 54%-36%
- Published on Tuesday, 11 October 2011 00:00
- Written by Sean Higgins, Investor's Business Daily
- Hits: 230
President Obama's re-election hopes are waning as the latest IBD/TIPP poll shows a majority favor a change in the Oval Office.
By 51%-41%, people say "someone new" should be given the chance to run the country.
For Obama, the most worrisome factor may be the loss of independents. Key to his 2008 victory, these swing voters now want somebody else as president, 54%-36%. A majority of independents also are negative regarding Obama on managing the federal budget and creating jobs and economic growth.
"Independents, the unbiased arbiters, are disappointed. They have been hurt badly with job losses. They don't see the president's policies improving the economy," said Raghavan Mayur, president of TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, which conducted the poll.
Karlyn Bowman, polling analyst for the conservative American Enterprise Institute, says those numbers are daunting for any candidate, let alone an incumbent.
"He has a 36% rating among independents, 38% among whites. Those numbers have to improve for him to be re-elected," she said.
More than a year after the White House and Democrats declared a "recovery summer," the public has yet to see an improvement. By 42%-16%, people expect economic conditions to get worse over the next six months. Another 39% foresee no change.
Among independents, 48% expect conditions to worsen vs. 12% seeing improvement.
The U.S. did add 103,000 jobs in September, the Labor Department said Friday. That was more than expected, but not enough to keep up with population growth. Unemployment stayed at 9.1%. Private and government forecasters don't see much improvement, if any, by Election Day.
Americans don't see much help coming from Washington. Overall, 67% say they are not satisfied with current federal economic policies. Just 30% are. Independents are even gloomier, with 70%-28% dissatisfied.
The stimulus, auto bailouts and ObamaCare haven't paid Obama any political dividends. His second stimulus plan, the American Jobs Act, does not seem to be moving the country. Even congressional Democrats have dragged their heels on it.
Exactly half give Obama poor grades in creating jobs and economic growth, with just 24% giving him good grades. Among independents, those numbers are 51% and 18%, respectively.
Obama's numbers are little better in managing the budget: 46% award him poor grades and only 26% give him good ones. Among independents, it's 50%-20%.
His refusal to adopt the prescription by his original debt commission, his brinksmanship with Republicans over the budget and debt ceiling, and pushing off debt issues to another panel have not inspired confidence.
A bright spot for Obama was his handling of Afghanistan. He gets good grades from 43% vs. only 29% giving him poor grades.
People still find the president appealing too, with 70% saying they "like Obama personally," though half of those said they disapproved of his policies.
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