After a summer of healthcare battles and sliding approval ratings for President Obama, the White House is facing a troubling new trend: The voters losing faith in the president are the ones he had worked hardest to attract.I don't think this week will be kind to Obama. The school speech followed the the joint session speech on Wednesday will just create more overexposure and that's not endearing him to anybody. He will drive a deeper wedge and chase more people from his former flock.
New surveys show steep declines in Obama's approval ratings among whites -- including Democrats and independents -- who were crucial elements of the diverse coalition that helped elect the country's first black president.
Among white Democrats, Obama’s job approval rating has dropped 11 points since his 100-days mark in April, according to surveys by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. It has dropped by 9 points among white independents and whites over 50, and by 12 points among white women -- all groups that will be targeted by both parties in next year's midterm elections.
"While Obama has a lock on African Americans, his support among white voters seems to be almost in a free fall," said veteran Republican pollster Neil Newhouse.
Strategists in both parties blame Obama's decline on growing discontent with his policy agenda, particularly after a month of often-rowdy debate over his proposed healthcare overhaul, in which some conservatives accused him of socialism. Obama's ratings seem likely to rise again if he wins passage of healthcare legislation this fall.
But the drop in support among whites also comes as some conservatives have stoked controversies that have the potential to further erode Obama's standing among centrists -- including some controversies that resulted from White House stumbles.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Mr. Postracial President is Widening the Racial Divide
Obama still has the support of black voters, but his support among white voters is crumbling:
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Well, Obama has black voters still -- he has, after all, made history. If I were black, I'd probably have voted for him too.
But black people are not socialists, they are not pro-abortion, they are not racists. Most black people today do not want to live out the baggage of slavery forever. They like to be able to like other people. They want to enjoy the companionship of kindred spirits regardless of race.
How do I know? I'm a white girl in a majority black county.
Obama's black voters were certainly not voting for socialism -- or worse -- for Van Jones's maoism. They have no more knowledge of this underbelly of Obama's administration than do most other citizens since the mainstreams are keeping it so hush-hush.
But the word is slowly getting out. And when the black voter finds out enough of the truth to ditch the guy, he'll be really ditched good!
I live in this new community of upwardly mobile black citizens, and I have the greatest faith in them. They didn't finally get a "seat in the front of the bus" just to have it drive over a cliff.
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