Obviously a lot of factors play into how a president is perceived. This time around, a lot of people are in trouble and -- the kicker -- unable to do anything about it. Whether the president is electable will be determined by whether he's perceived as "doing something about our plight," or "in a bubble," or -- worst -- "in league with the elitists who are keeping us down."
Ezra Klein examines the Gallup survey focusing on Americans' perceptions of how the economy is doing. No surprise: the better off you are, the better your opinion of the economy's direction and the higher your hopes. There's a significant difference in views of the economy between those making $75k or more and those making $30k or less
An awful lot of people are feeling left out. Klein observes:
...If you’re well off, you’re a) less worried to about the economy, b) more likely to be a decisionmaker, and c) more likely to be listened to by decisionmakers. If you’re not well off, you’re a) more likely to believe we’re in an economic depression, b) less likely to be in a position to do anything about it, and c) there’s no evidence that the people who can do something about it are at all interested in your opinions on the matter.
The people who can do something about it are Congress -- America long ago gave up on that gang! -- and the president. America invested a great deal of hope and faith in Obama. Do they still think he will make things better or is he seen as an elitist among elitists?
Another way of looking at it aside from whether Obama cares is the question many poor must be asking themselves: Does Obama matter one way or the other?
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Obama matters a lot to conservatives.
The quest from the right to degrade Obama knows no bounds.
I’m looking at a photo with the faces of three chimpanzees imposed on the bodies of a man, woman and child. The baby chimp’s face is covered with Obama’s picture. It was e-mailed in California this month with the message: “Now you know why — no birth certificate!”
The sender was Marilyn Davenport, an elected member of the Orange County Republican Central Committee, who thought her GOP colleagues would also get a kick out of seeing the president of the United States depicted as the offspring of chimpanzees.
“I simply found it amusing regarding the character of Obama and all the questions surrounding his origins of birth,” Davenport said in a written statement. “In no way did I even consider the fact that he’s half black when I sent out the email.” ...Colbert King, WaPo
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