Over the last couple of days Obama's popularity has taken a dive, according to Rasmussen's Presidential Approval Index. The Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the percentage of those who strongly disapprove of the president's performance from the percentage of those who strongly approve.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 24% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-two percent (42%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -18.
That’s a one point improvement from yesterday when Obama’s Approval Index rating fell to the lowest level yet recorded. Prior to the past three days, the Approval Index had never fallen below -15 during Obama’s time in office (see trends).
The dip in popularity almost certainly comes about because of the speech he gave to the Nobel Committee upon acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize last Thursday. I say this because the decline in Obama's popularity has occurred among those who strongly approve of his performance. On Sunday it was down to 23% before rising a point today. Meanwhile the percentage of those who strongly disapprove of his performance has bounced between 38% and 42% since November 24th.
But the speech did it, sending Obama to a record low of -19 on Sunday. Here is a sample of what most likely has drawn the ire of his supporters.
I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism - it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.
I raise this point because in many countries there is a deep ambivalence about military action today, no matter the cause. At times, this is joined by a reflexive suspicion of America, the world's sole military superpower.
Yet the world must remember that it was not simply international institutions - not just treaties and declarations - that brought stability to a post-World War II world. Whatever mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: the United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms. The service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform has promoted peace and prosperity from Germany to Korea, and enabled democracy to take hold in places like the Balkans. We have borne this burden not because we seek to impose our will. We have done so out of enlightened self-interest - because we seek a better future for our children and grandchildren, and we believe that their lives will be better if other peoples' children and grandchildren can live in freedom and prosperity.
What could Obama have been thinking! To suggest that America has accomplished good things in the world is bad enough. But then to compound the sin and say that America has sometimes done it through the use of military force is simply way to much for his left-wing base to swallow. It comes as very little surprise that Obama's Nobel Prize acceptance speech won praise from conservatives and libertarian leaning Republicans.
In the long run the president's position on Afghanistan and the War on Terror will win him more support than it will cost him. That presumes he will stick to his pledge to actually win it, which I believe he will, even though he never actually said the word, "Win."
Now if he would just come around on domestic issues and embrace market oriented reforms, the American people would come squarely behind him. We don't need a government takeover of the health insurance industry, and we don't need to kneecap our manufacturing industries with cap and trade taxes. Especially when it is becoming increasingly clear that Anthropogenic Global Warming is a fraud.
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