George Bush Did It- NO- Barack Obama Did It Rodney
Brown According to recent poll s 60 percent of voters say they lack faith in President Obama after 18 months in office. The public opinion poll was conducted by Washington Post/ABC News. The irony is that 60 percent of voters expressed confidence in his decision making only 18 months ago. Has the president lost all support from his base of voters? Visiting cities hit hardest by the recent economic meltdown; Obama used his speeches to remind those in attendance that the previous administration is responsible for the nation's array of troubles. "My administration inherited a fiscal disaster," Obama said. "A trillion-dollar deficit and a broken financial system are the results of a decade of irresponsibility under Republicans. They are peddling that same snake oil that they've been peddling now for years, and somehow they think you will have forgotten that it didn't work," he added. "Well, we did kick them out because it wasn't working." Political insiders point to issues including high unemployment and the BP oil spill as critical factors why the President's approval numbers are suddenly slipping downward. Republicans are hammering the president on the issue that Americans are in trouble "financially" because they aren't able to find jobs but at the same time they refuse to sign-on to extend unemployment benefits. Republicans, object to the extension because they want the benefits paid for before it is approved. "After ballooning the deficit to well over a trillion dollars on initiatives without paying for them over a period of eight years, - it is bad politics and unfortunate for the American people that now- Republicans want to be fiscal responsible when American families are in need," said Obama. Some Republicans, including Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove (a top official in the Bush Administration) have referred to the BP oil spill as "Obama's Katrina," but it was under former President George Bush that regulations over oil companies were minimized. A number of Republican members have admitted to having money invested in the oil business which points to a "conflict of interest" at the highest level of government. "The 'sit back and do nothing but blame President Obama for problems created during the Bush Administration' is the strategy being employed by Republicans to bring down the president's approval numbers," said David Axelrod, Obama's top political adviser. President Obama stated he is not governing based on opinion surveys but on his campaign promises. "We don't have to guess how the other party will govern, because we're still living with the results from the last time," he said. Despite poor poll numbers, Obama's approval ratings are high among African Americans, especially in Syracuse and Rochester. "Everything, the president tries to do, Republicans find some odd-illegitimate reason not to support it," said Anthony Brown, senior technician at Times Warner Cable. "Obama is doing his best to clean-up a huge mess created by Republicans." "People seem to have gotten amnesia in such a short period of time," added his wife. "The Bush Administration selfishly ignored regulations and traditional American principles that were lawfully put in place to preserve the economic health of the country. Obama shouldn't be held responsible for his predecessor incompetence, she said." Several African Americans argued the Washington Post/ABC Poll was racially insensitive. "I would like to know, the ethnicity of the people questioned," said Janice, a local college student. "The great majority of people I speak to about politics think Obama is doing a good job; especially under the hardships he inherited from the previous administration." A representative from Action for a Better Community (ABC) in Rochester noted the organization received 8.8 million dollars in stimulus funds. "Because of the stimulus money we were able to hire 24 additional people," she said. "Numerous programs have been created which has allowed us to continue to better serve the community's health and safety needs." The polls are very misleading," said Donnell Curry, a factory worker. "They're highway projects going-on throughout the city that's creating jobs which was probably created with stimulus funds? I have two friends who were unemployed but recently found work because of the Weatherization Grants that are funded by stimulus money. Obama is definitely trying his best to look-out for average Americans," he said. Jonathan
Mott, PH.D, an expert on public opinion polls stated, public opinion polls must
generally be read with caution. "Anyone opinion poll might be inaccurate
for a variety of reasons," he said. "Moreover, even accurately measured
public opinion is often based on limited or inaccurate information and people
are prone to change their minds." |