Ironically, most people approve of Barack Obama, as we keep learning.
Greg Sargent looks at the latest numbers and find that when "Americans are asked whether they support a range of Obama’s actual fiscal and economic policies ... in every case, a majority or plurality supports them."
That disconnect would seem to come from right wing media's insistence that Obama is failing. The public translates that into "Obama's economic policies are failing." But the policies themselves get approval and Obama, as we keep learning, is generally liked.
— A solid majority (60 percent) supports reducing the deficit by ending the Bush tax cuts for the rich.
— A solid majority (56 percent) supports reducing the deficit through a combination of tax increases and spending cuts.
— Only 37 percent support the GOP’s solution to the deficit, i.e., reducing it only through spending cuts with no tax hikes on the rich or corporations.
— A plurality supports a federally funded roads construction bill to create jobs, 47-26, which is similar to what Obama is expected to propose in his jobs speech.
— A plurality supports continuing to extend unemployment benefits, 44-39.
— A plurality supports an extension of the payroll tax cut, 40-20.
As Steve Benen notes, this bodes well for public acceptance of Obama’s jobs speech on Thursday. After all, it would appear possible that disapproval of Obama on the economy is a referendum on the actual state of the economy, rather than on Obama’s suggested current policies for fixing it. While it’s true that the public remains skeptical of Obama’s number one solution to the economy — the stimulus — the public is clearly receptive to the current, unimplemented solutions Obama is championing, even though the same public generally disapproves of Obama’s economic performance.
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So how does Obama put an end to that disconnect? Well, lotsa luck, Mr. President.
The challenge Obama faces with his jobs speech and the fall offensive that will follow is this: Close that disconnect, and make it clear to the public that Republicans are the reason those policies are not being implemented.
Of course, if Obama’s speech and jobs offensive fail, we could see a deeply perverse outcome. If Obama’s policies aren’t implemented, and unemployment doesn’t show even marginal improvement, and Obama’s overall economic approval numbers remain in the toilet, Republicans could end up politically benefitting from successfully styming individual policies the American people say they want. ...Greg Sargent
