It is not surprising that over nine in ten Republicans (93%) and 88% of Conservatives give the President negative ratings. But one-third of Democrats (33%) and three in ten Liberals (30%) also give him negative marks for his job performance. Among Independents, almost two-thirds (64%) give President Obama negative ratings as do six in ten (59%) Moderates.
Education and region show some differences in the President's approval rating. Those in the East are more likely than those in the South to give President Obama positive ratings (44% vs. 33%). Also, those with higher education are more likely to give the President positive marks on the overall job he is doing. Just three in ten Americans with a high school degree or less (30%) give the President positive marks, but that rises to 40% of those with some college education, 45% of those with a college degree and 56% of those with a post graduate degree.
Congress' approval ratings
While there may have been a change in control of Congress, there has not been much of a change in attitude towards them. Just over one in ten Americans (13%) give Congress positive marks for the overall job they are doing while 87% give them negative marks. Before the election, 11% gave them positive marks while 89% gave them negative ratings.
Direction of country and most important issue
When it comes to how things in the country are going, one-third of Americans (33%) say things are going in the right direction while two-thirds (67%) say they are going off on the wrong track. Again, this is not much changed from last month when 34% of U.S. adults said things were going in the right direction and 66% said they were going off on the wrong track.
One reason for the negativity may be that the same two items again top the list of the two most important issues for the government to address. Over one-third of Americans (36%) say government should address employment/jobs while one-third (33%) say they should address the economy. Three in ten (30%) say the most important issue is healthcare, while 10% say it is budget and government spending. Just under one in ten say the government needs to address immigration (8%) and the deficit/national debt (8%).
So What?
The 2010 Congressional elections proved to be historic and game changing. In January, a new Congress will be sworn in with record numbers of freshmen. But, for the American public this is still the same old, same old. This new Congress comes in with a mandate of sorts, and the voters will be watching closely to make sure attention is paid to the issues of importance to them – the economy and jobs. Until those two issues are seen as moving in a positive direction, the angry voters will continue to be angry.
