President Obama is dealing with two different wars – one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan – and the American public is not pleased with his handling of either of them. In August two in five U.S. adults (42%) gave the president positive marks on his handling of the war in Iraq. Currently, that number has dropped to 34% while 66% give President Obama negative ratings on this war. The numbers for Afghanistan have gone down even more. In August, two in five (41%) gave the president positive ratings on the war in Afghanistan but now just one-quarter of Americans (27%) give him positive marks while 73% give him negative ratings.
The president has also spent a great deal of time trying to win the American public’s support for his health reform plan but does not seem to be making much headway on this issue. Just three in ten Americans (31%) give President Obama positive ratings on his handling of health care while 69% give him negative ratings. In August, over one-third (35%) of U.S. adults gave the president positive ratings on this issue.
Looking at economic issues at least two-thirds of Americans give him negative ratings on all of these issues. On the economy overall, 67% give the president negative marks while one-third (33%) give him positive ones. In September, 40% gave President Obama positive marks on his handling of the economy. More specifically on his handling of regulating the financial system three in ten Americans (31%) give the president positive ratings while 69% give him negative marks. In August, 37% of Americans gave the president’s job on this positive marks.
When it comes to the issue of taxes, three in ten Americans (29%) give the president positive marks on his handling of this issue while 71% give him negative ratings. Just one-quarter of Americans (26%) gives the president’s handling of employment/unemployment a positive rating, down from 31% who felt this way in August. And, his lowest number is on the federal budget deficit where almost four in five Americans (78%) give President Obama negative marks and only 22% give him positive ratings.
So what?
The President needs a win, whether it is health care reform, some good economic numbers that matter to the American people or a change in Afghanistan. But, until he has something that resonates with the American public in a positive light, there is a sense that a negative attitude will permeate over all issues. One thing to note, education has actually ticked up a little and the White House had put forth their new education initiatives recently. Maybe this is the one issue that they should focus on for the near term, as long as they don’t take their eye off of the economy.
