Obama's recent poll #s: Gallup 49%, CBS 46%, Rasmussen 46%

highplainsdem

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Tue Jan-12-10 11:57 AM
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Obama's recent poll #s: Gallup 49%, CBS 46%, Rasmussen 46%

Edited on Tue Jan-12-10 12:02 PM by highplainsdem

That's the CBS poll published yesterday

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/01/11/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6084818.shtml

Rasmussen yesterday and today

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

and Gallup yesterday -- and possibly today, since this is the number from their home page, the daily averages:

http://www.gallup.com/home.aspx

And yeah, I know, many people are suspicious of Rasmussen's numbers, but they match what CBS found, and with Gallup under 50%, you can't exactly call that 46% an outlier.

Rasmussen has also been finding, as CBS found, that Obama's approval ratings are higher for his handling of the war on terror than for his handling of domestic issues, and the health care reform bill in particular is hurting him.

This is one of the reasons I'm concerned about this particular health care reform bill, in its present form.

As I posted yesterday, re the CBS poll about the health care bill, the numbers indicate people want a more liberal bill.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/01/11/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6084856.shtml

Rasmussen also found that the excise tax on "Cadillac" plans is very unpopular.

Voters Agree Only on Taxing The Rich To Pay for Health Care Plan

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/january_2010/voters_agree_only_on_taxing_the_rich_to_pay_for_health_care_plan

Sixty-four percent (64%) of all voters favor imposing an income tax surcharge on individuals who earn more than $500,000 a year and couples who earn more than $1 million a year. Just 35% are opposed.
However, a proposal to enact a significant excise tax on the most expensive health insurance plans provided by employers is supported by just 32% of voters. It is opposed by 59%.

Given these numbers, the obvious White House preference for the Senate bill over the House bill, and the excise tax over a tax on the wealthiest Americans, is political suicide. And the White House will be pushing Dems in Congress over that cliff first.

I think it's time for President Obama to put all his political capital behind the House bill, or even a more liberal version of it, before he throws away all the gains the party made in recent years.

And I don't care what private deals he cut with various corporations, or how much they've donated or promised to donate, or whether Obama somehow believes that a bill that pisses off a lot of his own base is somehow better because it's "bipartisan."

The Senate version of the HCR bill a train wreck, and disastrous for the Democratic Party.

David Axelrod thinks they can somehow "sell" the Democratic base on the HCR bill after it's passed. (That was among the quotes from him that I posted yesteray.) That's as much a fantasy as the delusional trickle-down economics behind their theory that if they tax the Cadillac health plans and employers drop them in favor of cheaper plans offering less coverage, those employer savings will be passed along to the employees as higher wages.

Mr. President, your base is calling. The American people are calling, through these polls. The unions are calling.

Are you listening?