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OBAMA APPROVAL PLUNGES 80%! Poll Shows Drop: 30% to 6% on Strong Approval
Barack Obama’s popularity ratings have plummetted according to the latest Rasmussen Poll. (See March 12, 2009 Wall Street Journal article below.)
The highly accurate poll subtracts the ‘strong dissapprovals’ from the ‘strong approvals’ to get their net approval rating.
The week Barack Obama was sworn in, the ‘Obama Approval Index’ his approval rate was a whopping 30%. But by March 11 it dropped to a meager 6%. Considering he had 15% on February 27, this is a veritable freefall.
However, Obama’s numbers did rise 3% from March 11 to March 13, possibly due to the stock market having a brief surge.
President and CEO David Armstrong of Armstrong International, a century old family-owned company, has clear reasons for the significant drop in popularity.
According to Armstrong the public listens to promises and monitors how they perceive they area being delivered, after giving a reasonable ‘honeymoon’ period wherein they give the benefit of the doubt.
During your interview with David he discusses that with an unprecedented number of Obama’s cabinet choices being surrounded by impossible to ignore ethics challenges, an ‘Obama fatigue factor’ has set in.
When virtually all of the ‘changes’ promised by Obama are changes toward big centralized government, or when they see Obama flip-flopping on so many campaign promises, such as his solemn vow to post important bills on the Internet prior to voting on them—such as the trillion dollar taxpayer-funded bailout of rich bankers--even moderate and some liberal voters are left scratching their heads in puzzlement and/or disenchantment.
Armstrong’s suggestion to Obama: “Speak only the truth and practice the Golden Rule: Do unto taxpayers as you would have taxpayers do unto you.”
The following is the Rasmussen Poll:
Date Presidential Approval Index Strongly Approve Strongly Disapprove Total Approve Total Disapprove
03/13/2009 9 38% 29% 57% 42%
03/12/2009 9 37% 28% 58% 41%
03/11/2009 6 37% 31% 56% 43%
03/10/2009 6 38% 32% 56% 43%
03/09/2009 6 38% 32% 56% 43%
03/08/2009 8 39% 31% 56% 43%
03/07/2009 8 39% 31% 56% 43%
03/06/2009 15 42% 27% 58% 40%
03/05/2009 14 41% 27% 59% 40%
03/04/2009 16 42% 26% 60% 38%
03/03/2009 13 40% 27% 60% 39%
03/02/2009 10 39% 29% 58% 41%
03/01/2009 8 38% 30% 58% 40%
02/28/2009 10 39% 29% 59% 39%
02/27/2009 15 41% 26% 60% 40%
02/26/2009 16 41% 25% 60% 40%
02/25/2009 14 39% 25% 59% 40%
02/24/2009 14 39% 25% 60% 39%
02/23/2009 11 38% 27% 58% 40%
02/22/2009 11 38% 27% 58% 41%
02/21/2009 10 38% 28% 57% 41%
02/20/2009 12 38% 26% 59% 40%
02/19/2009 13 38% 25% 60% 39%
02/18/2009 14 38% 24% 61% 38%
02/17/2009 15 38% 23% 61% 37%
02/16/2009 10 36% 26% 60% 39%
02/15/2009 11 37% 26% 60% 39%
02/14/2009 13 39% 26% 60% 39%
02/13/2009 17 41% 24% 60% 38%
02/12/2009 19 43% 24% 61% 37%
02/11/2009 19 42% 23% 60% 38%
02/10/2009 15 39% 24% 60% 38%
02/09/2009 14 38% 24% 60% 38%
02/08/2009 11 36% 25% 59% 39%
02/07/2009 14 37% 23% 60% 38%
02/06/2009 17 38% 21% 61% 36%
02/05/2009 19 39% 20% 62% 36%
02/04/2009 18 39% 21% 62% 36%
02/03/2009 15 37% 22% 61% 36%
02/02/2009 17 41% 24% 60% 38%
02/01/2009 21 44% 23% 63% 34%
01/31/2009 23 45% 22% 63% 34%
01/30/2009 21 43% 22% 63% 36%
01/29/2009 22 42% 20% 62% 36%
01/28/2009 22 42% 20% 62% 36%
01/27/2009 23 42% 19% 62% 36%
01/26/2009 21 41% 20% 60% 37%
01/25/2009 22 42% 20% 60% 36%
01/24/2009 26 44% 18% 61% 33%
01/23/2009 29 45% 16% 62% 29%
01/22/2009 30 44% 14% 64% 29%
ABOUT DAVID ARMSTRONG…
David M. Armstrong heads up Armstrong International, a family company that is over a century old, providing industrial heating and air conditioning equipment to companies. But more than being a businessman, David is a storyteller. In fact, Mr. Armstrong has evolved corporate storytelling into a whole new style of management—a style praised by Tom Peters as the leadership answer for tormented managers who need their people to champion initiative.
David Armstrong’s stock in trade is anecdotes—stories about urgency, bravery, wisdom, core values, change management, innovation and having fun in the workplace. Where does he find stories? In the same places he suggests you look for yours—in the eyes and on the faces of the customers, partners and employees who come through your doors every day.
“Every company has a rich heritage of stories,” says David. “I’m just putting my company’s treasure to work.” While it may be true that every company has stories, not every CEO has the vision to search them out and retell them with powerful and memorable morals. That’s what this site is all about—helping you to dig into, discover and use the stories that surround you.
Today Armstrong International is a safe haven in a business world grown confusing and complex. Doing business with Armstrong International is refreshingly simple and pleasant. In fact, today’s dream has become the vision of business as a series of enjoyable experiences.
ABOUT HANGING BY A THREAD
Can you be successful at business or even running a country without losing your soul? David Armstrong thinks you can! In his new book, Hanging By A Thread, David shares real life examples of people and companies that are successful by simply following “The Golden Rule” of: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
In Hanging By a Thread, you will learn about Armstrong International, which is a successful, profitable company that follows the golden rule in all of its decisions for over a century, and in the process, is flourishing in an otherwise turbulent economy.
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE MAY BE HELPFUL WITH SHOW PREP:
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL/ MARCH 12, 2009
Obama's Poll Numbers Are Falling to Earth
By DOUGLAS E. SCHOEN and SCOTT RASMUSSEN
It is simply wrong for commentators to continue to focus on President Barack Obama's high levels of popularity, and to conclude that these are indicative of high levels of public confidence in the work of his administration. Indeed, a detailed look at recent survey data shows that the opposite is most likely true. The American people are coming to express increasingly significant doubts about his initiatives, and most likely support a different agenda and different policies from those that the Obama administration has advanced.
Polling data show that Mr. Obama's approval rating is dropping and is below where George W. Bush was in an analogous period in 2001. Rasmussen Reports data shows that Mr. Obama's net presidential approval rating -- which is calculated by subtracting the number who strongly disapprove from the number who strongly approve -- is just six, his lowest rating to date.
Overall, Rasmussen Reports shows a 56%-43% approval, with a third strongly disapproving of the president's performance. This is a substantial degree of polarization so early in the administration. Mr. Obama has lost virtually all of his Republican support and a good part of his Independent support, and the trend is decidedly negative.
A detailed examination of presidential popularity after 50 days on the job similarly demonstrates a substantial drop in presidential approval relative to other elected presidents in the 20th and 21st centuries. The reason for this decline most likely has to do with doubts about the administration's policies and their impact on peoples' lives.
There is also a clear sense in the polling that taxes will increase for all Americans because of the stimulus, notwithstanding what the president has said about taxes going down for 95% of Americans. Close to three-quarters expect that government spending will grow under this administration.
Recent Gallup data echo these concerns. That polling shows that there are deep-seeded, underlying economic concerns. Eighty-three percent say they are worried that the steps Mr. Obama is taking to fix the economy may not work and the economy will get worse. Eighty-two percent say they are worried about the amount of money being added to the deficit. Seventy-eight percent are worried about inflation growing, and 69% say they are worried about the increasing role of the government in the U.S. economy.
When Gallup asked whether we should be spending more or less in the economic stimulus, by close to 3-to-1 margin voters said it is better to have spent less than to have spent more. When asked whether we are adding too much to the deficit or spending too little to improve the economy, by close to a 3-to-2 margin voters said that we are adding too much to the deficit.
Support for the stimulus package is dropping from narrow majority support to below that. There is no sense that the stimulus package itself will work quickly, and according to a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, close to 60% said it would make only a marginal difference in the next two to four years. Rasmussen data shows that people now actually oppose Mr. Obama's budget, 46% to 41%. Three-quarters take this position because it will lead to too much spending. And by 2-to-1, voters reject House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's call for a second stimulus package.
While over two-thirds support the plan to help homeowners refinance their mortgage, a 48%-36% plurality said that it will unfairly benefit those who have been irresponsible, echoing Rick Santelli's call to arms on CNBC.
And although a narrow majority remains confident in Mr. Obama's goals and overall direction, 45% say they do not have confidence, a number that has been growing since the inauguration less than two months ago. With three-quarters saying that they expect the economy to get worse, it is hard to see these numbers improving substantially.
There is no real appetite for increasing taxes to pay for an expanded health-insurance program. Less than half would support such an idea, which is 17% less than the percentage that supported government health insurance when Bill Clinton first considered it in March of 1993.
While voters blame Republicans for the lack of bipartisanship in Washington, the fact is that they do not believe Mr. Obama has made any progress in improving the impulse towards cooperation between the two parties. Further, nearly half of voters say that politics in Washington will be more partisan over the next year.
Fifty-six percent of Americans oppose giving bankers any additional government money or any guarantees backed by the government. Two-thirds say Wall Street will benefit more than the average taxpayer from the new bank bailout plan. This represents a jump in opposition to the first plan passed last October. At that time, 45% opposed the bailout and 30% supported it. Now a solid majority opposes the bank bailout, and 20% think it was a good idea. A majority believes that Mr. Obama will not be able to cut the deficit in half by the end of his term.
Only less than a quarter of Americans believe that the federal government truly reflects the will of the people. Almost half disagree with the idea that no one can earn a living or live "an American life" without protection and empowerment by the government, while only one-third agree.
Despite the economic stimulus that Congress just passed and the budget and financial and mortgage bailouts that Congress is now debating, just 19% of voters believe that Congress has passed any significant legislation to improve their lives. While Congress's approval has increased, it still stands at only 18%. Over two-thirds of voters believe members of Congress are more interested in helping their own careers than in helping the American people. When it comes to the nation's economic issues, two-thirds of voters have more confidence in their own judgment than they do in the average member of Congress.
Finally, what probably accounts for a good measure of the confidence and support the Obama administration has enjoyed is the fact that they are not Republicans. Virtually all Americans, more than eight in 10, blame Republicans for the current economic woes, and the only two leaders with lower approval ratings than Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and John Boehner.
All of this is not just a subject for pollsters and analysts to debate. It shows fundamentally that public confidence in government remains low and is slipping. We face the possibility of substantial gridlock along with an absolute absence of public confidence that could come to mirror the lack of confidence in the American economy that the Dow and the S&P are currently showing.
Mr. Schoen, formerly a pollster for President Bill Clinton, is the author of "Declaring Independence: The Beginning of the End of the Two Party System" (Random House, 2008). Mr. Rasmussen is president of Rasmussen Reports, an independent national polling company.
Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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