Number of Americans to whom Obama is not liberal enough doubles; GOP rating drops

[KingOrfeo]

New poll:

Washington (CNN) – President Barack Obama's approval rating is down to 45 percent, driven in part by growing dissatisfaction on the left with the president's track record in office, according to a new national survey.

A CNN/ORC International Poll also indicates that the Republican "brand" is taking a beating in the minds of Americans.

Read full results (pdf).

The survey's Friday release comes as the Obama administration and top congressional officials continue talks on a potential deal tying roughly $3 trillion in new savings over the next decade to an increase in the nation's debt ceiling. If Congress and the President fail to raise the country's $14.3 trillion limit by August 2, Americans could face rising interest rates, a declining dollar and increasingly jittery financial markets, among other problems.

According to the poll, the president's 45 percent approval rating is down three points from June. Fifty-four percent of people questioned disapprove of how Obama's handling his duties, up six points from last month. His 54 percent disapproval rating ties the all-time high in CNN polling that the president initially reached just before last year's midterm elections.

"But drill down into that number and you'll see signs of a stirring discontent on the left," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Thirty-eight percent say they disapprove because President Obama has been too liberal, but 13 percent say they disapprove of Obama because he has not been liberal enough - nearly double what it was in May, when the question was last asked, and the first time that number has hit double digits in Obama's presidency."

Looking at that figure another way, roughly one in four Americans who disapprove of the president say they feel that way because he's not been liberal enough.

Obama's approval rating among liberals has dropped to 71 percent, the lowest point in his presidency. And the number of Democrats who want the party to renominate Obama next year, now at 77 percent, is relatively robust by historical standards but is also down a bit since June.

"It's likely that this is a reaction to some of Obama's recent actions, including his willingness to discuss major changes in Social Security and Medicare as part of the debt ceiling negotiations," adds Holland.

Some congressional Democrats appeared to be on the verge of open revolt against their own president Thursday night after hearing some of the details in the $3 trillion plan - a package many of them contend does not do nearly enough to ensure wealthier Americans share in the burden of stemming the tide of Washington's red ink.

Those Democrats are desperately trying to protect some of their party's primary legacies - entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare, programs forged at the height of the New Deal and Great Society.

On the other side of the negotiating table, the poll indicates that GOP is also not faring all that well. Fifty-five percent say they have an unfavorable view of the Republican party, a seven-point increase since March. The Democratic party's favorable rating is not much better, but it has held steady.

And only 37 percent say the policies of the Republican leaders in Congress would move the country in the right direction - a nine-point drop since the start of the year, when the GOP took over control of the House of Representatives.

"Although most Americans say that Obama is not doing enough to cooperate with the GOP, even more say that the Republicans need to cooperate more with the president," says Holland.

The poll was conducted for CNN by ORC International on July 18-20, with 1,009 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

 

[Karen Kraft]

It is not politics, but economics, that is pushing Obama's approval ratings down.

And the GOP losses in popularity refer mostly to the dissatisfaction with establishment Republicans, in favor of TEA members. Thus, the hit the current GOP members will suffer will not come in the next general election; it will come in the primaries leading up to the next general election. (Use of semicolon for Mike Yates' benefit).

 

[mercury14]

It is not politics, but economics, that is pushing Obama's approval ratings down.

And the GOP losses in popularity refer mostly to the dissatisfaction with establishment Republicans, in favor of TEA members. Thus, the hit the current GOP members will suffer will not come in the next general election; it will come in the primaries leading up to the next general election. (Use of semicolon for Mike Yates' benefit).

Sounds like Americans are pissed off at the Tea members' no-compromise stance.

 

[KingOrfeo]

It is not politics, but economics, that is pushing Obama's approval ratings down.

Well, yes, partly, because we're still in a recession and a POTUS of either party would lose points; but that's not the whole story, is it? Or how to account for the rising number who say Obama is not liberal enough?

And the GOP losses in popularity refer mostly to the dissatisfaction with establishment Republicans, in favor of TEA members.

Cite? Please?

Thus, the hit the current GOP members will suffer will not come in the next general election; it will come in the primaries leading up to the next general election. (Use of semicolon for Mike Yates' benefit).

IIRC, in the few 2010 races where the Pub incumbent was successfully primaried out, the challenger lost to the Democrat. Sure ya wanna try that again?

 

[Colonel Hogan]

New poll:

Okay, let me get this straight.

Based on this poll, you want us to believe that a 55% "unfavorable view" of the Republican party is substantially more detrimental to Republicans than a 54% disapproval rating is for the President???

Allllllrighteeee, then!

 

[Sandia]

The problem is the media. Lazy reporters identify the problem as "those politicians" without drilling down into what's going on. They're afraid if they don't blame both sides equally, they'll be accused of bias. So Repubs have little incentive to compromise.

 

[IrezumiKiss]

Okay, let me get this straight.

Based on this poll, you want us to believe that a 55% "unfavorable view" of the Republican party is substantially more detrimental to Republicans than a 54% disapproval rating is for the President???

Allllllrighteeee, then!

55% > 54%

 

[Colonel Hogan]

55% > 54%

Not substantially. The key word was "substantially."

 

[Liar]

And the GOP losses in popularity refer mostly to the dissatisfaction with establishment Republicans, in favor of TEA members. Thus, the hit the current GOP members will suffer will not come in the next general election; it will come in the primaries leading up to the next general election. (Use of semicolon for Mike Yates' benefit).

Is that why Tea Party favorite governors like Walker, Snyder, Kasich and Scott have such stellar approval numbers?

 

[LJ_Reloaded]

55% > 54%

Colonel Hogan fails math again. No surprise there.

 

[John Doe]

Not substantially. The key word was "substantially."

It's not even outside the margin of error.

 

[garbage can]

The problem is the media. Lazy reporters identify the problem as "those politicians" without drilling down into what's going on. They're afraid if they don't blame both sides equally, they'll be accused of bias. So Repubs have little incentive to compromise.

What, The media being accused of bias, perish the fucking thought.

There is no doubt that the MSM is pro Republican, you can see it in the presentation of news, especially MSNBC and CNN. Wolf Blitzer is a terrorist wing nut.

 

[Liar]

It's not even outside the margin of error.

I'm a bit curious of that on.e Is it the GOP in general, or Republicans in Congress that is rated?

Because the favorability ratings of Congress is historically always abysmally low.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Okay, let me get this straight.

Based on this poll, you want us to believe that a 55% "unfavorable view" of the Republican party is substantially more detrimental to Republicans than a 54% disapproval rating is for the President???

Allllllrighteeee, then!

Apparently.

And only 37 percent say the policies of the Republican leaders in Congress would move the country in the right direction - a nine-point drop since the start of the year, when the GOP took over control of the House of Representatives.

"Although most Americans say that Obama is not doing enough to cooperate with the GOP, even more say that the Republicans need to cooperate more with the president," says Holland.

 

[Colonel Hogan]

Colonel Hogan fails math again. No surprise there.

A single percentage point difference in a political poll is insignificant even if we knew for certain that difference existed in fact. Since it doesn't likely exceed the margin of error, we don't even know that. The two surveyed opinions are essentially the same.

You're confusing this 1% with the significance of a theoretical 1% increase in your IQ test scores. That story would make page one above the fold throughout the country.

 

[Liar]

What, The media being accused of bias, perish the fucking thought.

There is no doubt that the MSM is pro Republican, you can see it in the presentation of news, especially MSNBC and CNN. Wolf Blitzer is a terrorist wing nut.

Let me break it down for you.

Fox News has a conservative bias with the occasional token liberal contributor.
MSNBC has a liberal bias with the occasional conservative contributor.
CNN has a CNN bias with the occasional token finger painting monkey and/or twitter feed contributor.

Nobody gives a rat's scrotum about the other ones.

 

[John Doe]

I'm a bit curious of that on.e Is it the GOP in general, or Republicans in Congress that is rated?

Because the favorability ratings of Congress is historically always abysmally low.

"That one" what? If you're referring to what I said, it was a comment on statistics, not politics. If you're referring to something else then I don't know why you quoted me to do so.

 

[KingOrfeo]

I'm a bit curious of that on.e Is it the GOP in general, or Republicans in Congress that is rated?

Because the favorability ratings of Congress is historically always abysmally low.

There were questions going both to the Congressional parties, and simply to "The Republican Party" and "The Democratic Party". Full poll results (in pdf).

 

[Liar]

"That one" what? If you're referring to what I said, it was a comment on statistics, not politics. If you're referring to something else then I don't know why you quoted me to do so.

Sorry, "that one" is the 55% dissaproval rating for the GOP that we all were commenting on.

Just latching on to the conversation.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Let me break it down for you.

Fox News has a conservative bias with the occasional token liberal contributor.
MSNBC has a liberal bias with the occasional conservative contributor.
CNN has a CNN bias with the occasional token finger painting monkey and/or twitter feed contributor.

Nobody gives a rat's scrotum about the other ones.

But the media outlets that matter are Stewart and Colbert.

 

[kbate]

55% > 54%

with a 4% margin of error in the poll.

But hey. Keep plugging His Greatness.

 

[Liar]

But the media outlets that matter are Stewart and Colbert.

That would be funny if it wasn't true.

 

[KingOrfeo]

That would be funny if it wasn't true.

All thinking Americans watch Stewart and Colbert!

"That's fine, but I need a majority to win!"

-- Adlai Stevenson