Confidence in Obama Lower than Even Nixon at Watergate

American Thinker ^ | 09/30/2010 | bruce Walker

[SeekAndFind]

Gallup is the oldest major polling organization in America.  It has a strong interest in credibility with the public, because if its polls are wrong then its value drops to nothing.  Gallup Polls, by and large, are fairly accurate reflections of what is actually polled.  So when Gallup asks Americans in different states about their ideology, the reported data seems reasonable.  The problem, however, is that unless one looks at the data and not at how Gallup entitles its polls, big stories are lost. 

As one example, Gallup in the last year or so has finally begun asking Americans about their ideological persuasion and reporting the results of those polls.  A close examination of Gallup's reported data shows an absolutely stunning fact.  In the August 14, 2009 poll, conservatives outnumbered liberals in virtually all of the fifty states, even in hotbeds of radicalism like Massachusetts and Vermont.  What was the title of that poll?  "Conservative Label Prevails in South."  On February 3, 2010, Gallup repeated the poll.  The results were the same (every state was more conservative than liberal), but what was the title of that poll?  "Three Deep South States Are Most Conservative" (not something like "Conservatives Still Outnumber Liberals in Every State."  On August 2, 2010, Gallup tested the waters again.  This time, there were more liberals than conservatives in one state, Rhode Island, leading Gallup to give this poll the reasonable title "Wyoming, Mississippi, Utah Rank as Most Conservative States." 

Gallup on August 10, 2010 noted that Republicans had the highest lead this year on the generic congressional ballot.  Gallup missed a huge story:  the Republican lead on the generic ballot was the largest in the lifetime of most Americans.  To its credit, Gallup on August 30, 2010 noted in this poll that the Republican lead on the generic congressional ballot was the greatest in the history of Gallup polling, going back to 1942:  "GOP Takes Unprecedented Lead on Generic Ballot."  What Gallup neglected to mention is that while the ten point lead in the poll released August 30 was the largest ever, the seven point lead on August 10 was also, at that time, the largest lead ever. 

Gallup, again, has missed a big story.  On September 23, 2010 Gallup issued a report with the rather innocuous title: "Americans Trust U.S. More On Foreign Than On Domestic Affairs."   This is vaguely interesting, but hardly startling.  But look more closely at the Gallup graph and something more interesting appears:  our trust in government to handle domestic affairs appears to have dipped to a 13 year low in the latest poll.  A perusal of older Gallup Polls show something very interesting:  On September 18, 2008, Gallup measured the confidence that the American people had in government since before 1973.  In the category of confidence in federal government to handle domestic affairs, the numbers Gallup shows in that poll are lower than at any level since Gallup shows online archival data, which means since at least 1972. 

That means during Watergate, the Energy Crisis of 1973, and the recession of the same period, Americans had more confidence in Richard Nixon to handle domestic affairs than Americans have today in Barack Obama to handle domestic affairs.  The calamitous years of 1973 to 1974, when there were lines to get gasoline (which was suddenly sky high in price), when an American president resigned (preceded by an American vice president resigning), and when the nation dropped into a real economic downturn surely have to rank as the nadir of confidence in government to handle domestic affairs.  During those years, American had a viciously divided government, with partisan Democrats, who controlled both houses of Congress, doing everything possible to create suspicion and rancor towards the Nixon Administration. 

Gallup, curiously, never asked questions of Americans about their confidence in the ability of government to address their problems during the dreadful years of 1979 and 1980, the Carter Malaise, which would be the only comparable period in modern history.  Carter, of course, always had a Democrat Congress, so there were no "Watergate" congressional hearings of his administration.  Barack Obama also has overwhelming majorities in both houses of Congress and a fawning establishment media.  Obama, like Carter, entered office with a huge reservoir of personal goodwill.  Yet Obama has driven confidence that Americans have in the ability of government to address domestic affairs to a forty year, and perhaps historical low. 

There is another point.  Nixon reached that low point after six years in the White House.  Carter reached his Malaise in the second half of his first term (Democrat losses in Carter's 1978 midterm were modest and Carter still retained a fair amount of public confidence.)  What Gallup has exposed in the Obama Administration is a precipitous drop that closely resembles free fall.  A fascinating story, although one that Gallup, trying to conform its articles to conventional establishment opinion, seems to have missed once again.

Bruce Walker is the author of a new book:  Poor Lenin's Almanac: Perverse Leftists Proverbs for Modern Life

[ClearCase_guy]

It will get worse.

At some point, even the media will not be able to shield him.

[Responsibility2nd]

‘I’m a mother. I’m a wife. I’m an American veteran, and I’m one of your middle-class Americans. ‘And, quite frankly, I’m exhausted,’ she said.

‘I’m exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for, and deeply disappointed with where we are right now.’

~ Velma Hart
Former Obama voter

[RexBeach]

Bulletin: Obama’s popularity lower than a snake’s belly in a wagon rut.

[petercooper]

People are finally realizing that the Teleprompter Messiah is an incompetent loser.

[screaminsunshine]

This mess is a direct result of hapless Americans believing the MSM. I hope they learn their lesson. The MSM is the root of this.

[UCANSEE2]

[lurk]

Certainly our current President has earned the low confidence level.

But I think that Americans have lost confidence in politicians in general, and no longer see some emanation of glory from the desk of the White House, regardless of the occupant.

[wrench]

Not just the MSM, Obama is the “American Idol” president. The iPod generation thought it would be “cool” to elect the likes of him.

Those idiots will be paying for their mistake for the next 40 years.

[Obadiah]

Agreed. Obama is bad, but Obama NEVER would have been elected were it not for the destructively dishonest MSM.

[SanFranDan]

No more callers please. We have a winner!!

“This mess is a direct result of hapless Americans believing the MSM. I hope they learn their lesson. The MSM is the root of this.”

[PeterPrinciple]

But I think that Americans have lost confidence in politicians in general, and no longer see some emanation of glory from the desk of the White House, regardless of the occupant.

---

I consider that GOOD NEWS.

[JPG]

The media will never relent in their efforts to put a smiley face on the O’Slacker disaster. Just like Barry, they will never admit to any error on their part. Their list of who to blame when the socialist ship sinks is kept close at hand.

[lacrew]

I think its do or die time for Obama. His last gasp is his latest series of ‘don’t give up’ speeches. This probably won’t get much traction, then there will be mid-term losses. His deficit commission will report, and probably recommend more taxes...and the dems are having a difficult time tricking people over the Bush tax cut expiration.

So, Obama goes in 2011 with no Hope...and already plans to blame everything that goes wrong on ‘the party of no’. He might get away with this, if it weren’t for salivating Hillary supporters - who I believe have been, and will continue to, feed the media anti-Obama stories. Its a perfect model for her. Any blowback (like the ‘is he a muzzie’ poll) can be directed at the right.

O is in a historical bad spot. His friends get fewer by the day. Normal wag the dog ploys are off the table for him. His world view prevents him from saber rattling with Iran for example (heck, he halfway agrees with Ahmanutjob...why would he stand against him). He can’t seriously go the ‘mideast peace accord’ route, because he is so anti-Israel. All that is left is photo ops and basketball games with celebrities.

[WAW]

Yes...It means people are waking up.

[SoldierDad]

Yes, but then, afterward, she backtracked and has given at least two different reasons for why she made those comments and asked her question. This morning I saw a clip where Velma stated she wanted to ask that “tough” question because it’s the “tough” questions that produce results. I wanted to reach through my T.V. and throttle her for being so stupid. Questions produce results? These people do not have a clue.

[Brookhaven]

For once Obama can’t blame it on Bush. The truth is...

It’s Al Gore’s fault.

Gore invented the internet, and now the unwashed masses have access to unfiltered information.

[downtownconservative]

Between Clintoon the Casanova and O'bummer the psuedo-intellectual Marxist, 2 out of 3 of our contemporary presidents have besmirched the office of POTUS in historically damaging ways.

It will take a real POTUS and a whole lot of time to return honor and respect to the office. But a failure to make that happen could do mortal injury to the Republic!

[GBA]

Should obama fall like Nixon did, my only regret will be that my dad didn’t live long enough to see it and tell everyone ‘I told you so.’

[tal hajus]

Caeser was a statesman, unlike the present.