10 key reasons why the Obama presidency continues to melt down - Polidicks

[release]In August last year I published [URL="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100050412/the-stunning-decline-of-barack-obama-10-key-reasons-why-the-obama-presidency-is-in-meltdown/"]a list of ten key reasons[/URL] why the Obama presidency was in serious decline. This is a sequel to that post, which was[URL="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/review-of-the-year-2008/8223974/The-Telegraph-most-read-2010.html"] one of the most read pieces [/URL]on The Telegraph website in 2010. Twelve months on, the outlook continues to look exceedingly bleak for President Obama, with no sign of a recovery.July was the worst month for the Obama presidency since the November mid-terms which saw his party emphatically drubbed in Congressional elections across the country. The president hit an all-time low with[URL="http://www.gallup.com/poll/148739/Obama-Approval-Drops-New-Low.aspx"] a Gallup poll[/URL] at the end of the month giving him just 40 percent approval, with his rating among independents plummeting to just 34 percent. The outlook became even worse at the start of August, with dramatic falls in the stock market, and the historic decision by credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s to downgrade America’s debt. As the latest[URL="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/direction_of_country-902.html"] RealClear Politics average of polls [/URL]shows, less than a quarter of Americans believe the country is moving in the “right direction,” a damning indictment of the first 30 months of the Obama presidency. According to Rasmussen, that figure[URL="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/right_direction_or_wrong_track"] is as low as 14 percent[/URL], the lowest level of public confidence since November 2008. I’ve outlined below ten key reasons why the Obama presidency continues to flounder, after a very short-lived bounce in the spring. [B]1. Obama isn’t trusted on the economy[/B] A series of recent polls have demonstrated significant public discontent with President Obama on the economy, the number one issue for US voters. A[URL="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/postabcpoll_071711.html"] Washington Post/ABC News survey[/URL] in late July reported that 57 percent of Americans disapprove of Obama’s handling of the economy, 60 percent disapprove of his handling of the federal budget deficit, and 52 percent are unhappy with the president on job creation. A [URL="http://www.gallup.com/poll/148613/Economic-Confidence-Sinks-Lowest-Level-March.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_content=morelink&utm_term=Business%20-%20Economy%20-%20USA"]July 21 poll for Gallup [/URL]showed US economic confidence plunging to its lowest level since March 2009, with just 26 percent of Americans saying the economy is “getting better.” According to Gallup, more than two thirds of Americans now say the economy is “getting worse.” The[URL="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/indexes/rasmussen_consumer_index/rasmussen_consumer_index"] latest Rasmussen survey [/URL]shows consumer confidence “just one point above the lowest levels of the last two years” with investor confidence “down nine points from a week ago, down 12 points from a month ago, and down 29 points from three months ago. Investor confidence has not been lower since March 13, 2009.” [B]2. Obama isn’t serious about the budget deficit[/B] That’s certainly the opinion of credit agency Standard and Poor’s, which downgraded America’s AAA credit rating for the first time in 70 years, in early August. As[URL="http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12039"] the Congressional Budget Office revealed[/URL] in a January report, the deficits generated by the Obama administration are the largest since the end of World War Two, after two years of unchecked and out of control federal spending. And as I noted in [URL="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100099762/america%E2%80%99s-debt-downgrade-is-a-damning-indictment-of-president-obama%E2%80%99s-big-government-disaster/"]a piece on the S&P decision last week:[/URL] Since President Obama took office in January 2009, the United States has embarked on the most ambitious failed experiment in Washington meddling in US history. Huge increases in government spending, massive federal bailouts, growing regulations on businesses, thinly veiled protectionism, and the launch of a vastly expensive and deeply unpopular health care reform plan, have all combined to instill fear and uncertainty in the markets. [B]3. Obama’s foreign policy remains a weak-kneed and confusing mess[/B] US foreign policy under President Obama remains a staggering mess. With a policy of[URL="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100085078/barack-obama%E2%80%99s-leading-from-behind-foreign-policy-no-wonder-the-us-president-looks-weak-and-confused/"] “leading from behind”[/URL], Washington’s approach towards the war in Libya has been a sea of dithering and contradiction, with no discernible end goal in sight. The Obama administration has acted like a deer in the headlights in the face of momentous changes in the Middle East, and was caught napping by developments in both Egypt and Syria. In the face of the Iranian nuclear threat, the United States has been largely passive, content to pursue a foolhardy policy of engagement while Tehran edges closer to building a nuclear weapon. Over in Europe, the Russian reset has emboldened Moscow, while undermining key allies in eastern and central Europe. Obama has paid scant attention to the transatlantic alliance, [URL="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100088961/barack-obama-top-ten-insults-against-britain-2011-edition/"]weakening the Special Relationship with Britain[/URL], and sleepwalking while NATO declines. It is difficult to think of a US foreign policy that could be more ineffective that the one pursued by this administration, with the hardly surprising result that confidence in US leadership [URL="http://pewresearch.org/pubs/2059/-superpower-china-us-image-abroad-afghanistan-terrorism"]has dramatically fallen[/URL] across the world since Obama took office. [B]4. Independents are deserting the president[/B] In contrast to Bill Clinton, who moved to the centre after the emphatic Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in 1994, Barack Obama has shown little inclination to do so. This is a rigidly ideological presidency with a distinctly left-wing vision and agenda. Unsurprisingly, independents have been deserting Obama in droves, a huge cause for concern for the White House as it looks to November 2012. A [URL="http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Job-Approval-Center.aspx"]Gallup survey[/URL] at the end of July found just 37 percent of independents backing Obama, his lowest level of support from this group since he took office, a fall of ten points since the end of May, and down from 62 percent at the start of his presidency. A[URL="http://people-press.org/2011/07/28/obama-loses-ground-in-2012-reelection-bid/"] Pew Research Center survey[/URL], conducted in late July, also showed a dramatic drop in support for the president among registered independent voters, with significant implications for the presidential elections. As [URL="http://people-press.org/2011/07/28/obama-loses-ground-in-2012-reelection-bid/"]Pew noted in its report[/URL]: The sizeable lead Barack Obama held over a generic Republican opponent in polls conducted earlier this year has vanished as his support among independent voters has fallen off. Currently, 41% of registered voters say they would like to see Barack Obama reelected, while 40% say they would prefer to see a Republican candidate win in 2012. In May, Obama held an 11-point lead. This shift is driven by a steep drop-off in support for Obama among independents… just 31% of independent voters want to see Obama reelected, down from 42% in May and 40% in March. Where Obama held a slim 7-point edge among independent registered voters two months ago, a generic Republican holds an 8-point edge today. [B]5. A majority of Americans still reject Obamacare[/B] President Obama has stubbornly refused to back down over his hugely costly health care reform plans, commonly dubbed “Obamacare”, despite significant public opposition to them. In many ways, Obamacare is a political albatross around Obama’s neck as he heads towards 2012. [URL="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/obama_and_democrats_health_care_plan-1130.html"]TheRealClear Politics average[/URL] for May to July has 50.8 percent of Americans opposed to Obamacare, with just 38.6 percent in favour. Rasmussen, which tracks the issue closely, has the level of opposition to Obama’s health reforms running [URL="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/health_care_law"]currently at 55 percent[/URL]. CNN’s most recent polling in June placed [URL="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/obama_and_democrats_health_care_plan-1130.html"]public opposition at 56 percent[/URL]. Strikingly, out of 50 polls conducted on Obamacare since the start of 2011[URL="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/obama_and_democrats_health_care_plan-1130.html"] and listed byRealClear Politics[/URL], only two (Rasmussen in January and Gallup in March), show more support than opposition for the president’s plan. [B]6. The Obama presidency looks increasingly out of touch with the American people[/B] There is a disturbing let them eat cake mentality projected by the Obama White House, whether the president is [URL="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100097177/barack-obama%E2%80%99s-extravagent-ancien-regime-tells-the-american-people-let-them-eat-taxes/"]advocating higher taxes[/URL] in the face of a possible double dip recession, or [URL="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100099548/obama-feasts-while-rome-burns-do-america%E2%80%99s-ruling-liberal-elites-think-they-are-the-new-emperors/"]hosting elaborate parties[/URL]while [URL="http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/04/pf/food_stamps_record_high/index.htm?iid=HP_River"]45 million Americans depend on food stamps[/URL]. No US presidency in modern times has been more elitist or out of touch than the present one, which exudes the kind of condescending left-wing snobbery that is normally the preserve of an ivory tower common room. President Obama looks increasingly aloof and out of sync with the American people, three quarters of whom now believe the country is heading down the wrong track – [URL="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100098987/barack-obama%E2%80%99s-out-of-touch-presidency-sinks-to-a-new-low-75-percent-of-likely-us-voters-believe-the-country-is-heading-in-the-wrong-direction/"]including a staggering 58 percent[/URL] of Democrats, according to Rasmussen. [B]7. Conservatism is growing stronger in America[/B] While President Obama remains determined to shift the country to the Left, the American public is increasingly conservative in terms of ideology. There is a fundamental disconnect between the most ideologically driven liberal president in US history, and a large percentage of the American people. As Gallup’s[URL="http://www.gallup.com/poll/148745/political-ideology-stable-conservatives-leading.aspx"] latest survey on political views [/URL]shows, conservatism is by far the leading ideology in the United States. [URL="http://www.gallup.com/poll/148745/political-ideology-stable-conservatives-leading.aspx"]According to Gallup[/URL], nearly twice as many Americans (41 percent) call themselves conservative, compared to those who describe themselves as liberal (21 percent). Conservatives also outnumber moderates (36 percent) by a five point margin. And among Republicans, 71 percent describe themselves as “very conservative” or “conservative”, compared to just 38 percent of Democrats who call themselves “very liberal” or “liberal”. [B]8. The Tea Party has been a stunning success[/B] No article on Barack Obama’s stunning decline would be complete without mention of the Tea Party, which has been undoubtedly[URL="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100070120/the-tea-party-is-the-movement-of-the-decade/"] the most influential US political movement [/URL]of the decade. The Tea Party’s relentless rise played a key role in sparking the conservative revolution that swept Capitol Hill last November, and has played a major role in setting the agenda when it came to the heated debates over government spending this summer. Were it not for the Tea Party, it is likely that the budget deficit would not be the central issue it is today, and federal spending would have remained a largely inside the beltway debate instead of the talk of dinner tables across America. A truly grassroots movement has succeeded in a short period of time in humbling a presidency, and challenging the status quo on Capitol Hill. [B]9. The Obama presidency comes across as bitter, nasty and divisive[/B] Vice President Joe Biden’s [URL="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100099341/joe-biden-compares-the-tea-party-to-terrorists-is-this-the-most-crass-and-nasty-white-house-in-modern-us-history/"]recent attack on the Tea Party[/URL], supporting the charge by Democrat Congressman Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania that Tea Party Republicans had [URL="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/60421.html"]“acted like terrorists”[/URL] over the debt issue, was symbolic of an emphatically partisan White House, that is increasingly lashing out aggressively at anyone who questions its policies. As[URL="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/60421.html"] I noted at the time[/URL]: There is something deeply sad and disconcerting when the vice president decides to compare opposition legislators in Congress with terrorists simply because he disagrees with their views and principles. This is the kind of ugly, threatening rhetoric that has no place at the heart of the US presidency… Joe Biden has clearly overstepped the line with his comments, and brought the office of the vice president into disrepute. His actions today are symbolic of a White House that increasingly looks bitter, crass and petty in its behaviour as public opinion moves firmly against it. Biden’s outburst is a sign of the Left’s growing desperation 30 months into the Obama administration, and only further reinforces the image of decline and decay sinking in at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. [B] 10. The liberal elites are turning on the president[/B] One only has to read the pages of The New York Times, the flagship of America’s liberal elites, to see how some of the president’s most ardent left-wing supporters have begun to turn against him. Even [URL="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/opinion/sunday/dowd-tempest-in-a-tea-party.html?_r=1]:"]Maureen Dowd[/URL] despairs that her beloved president has been forced to make concessions to the Tea Party on the debt issue, quoting a Democrat Senator as saying: “we are watching him turn into Jimmy Carter right before our eyes.” And as for uber liberal Nobel prize winning economist Paul Krugman, Obama has supposedly [URL="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/01/opinion/the-president-surrenders-on-debt-ceiling.html"]“surrendered”[/URL] to the Right. There is every sign of a vicious civil war breaking out on the Left, as disillusionment mounts with Obama. This will make it increasingly difficult for the president to present a united front as he campaigns for re-election, and he will have to contend with heavy sniping from powerful liberal voices, most of whom gave him unequivocal backing in 2008. [B]A presidency in decline[/B] The omens are certainly not looking good for President Obama, as he approaches the final 16 months of his presidency. Public opinion has turned firmly against him in recent weeks, as it did in the months ahead of the November 2010 midterms. On the economy, undoubtedly the dominant issue for voters in 2012, he is on distinctly shaky ground, with his Big Government agenda increasingly distrusted by the American electorate, scorned by the financial markets, and given a vote of no confidence by credit agency Standard and Poor’s. By almost any measure, this is a presidency in steep decline and in serious trouble. This is looking like another ‘annus horribilis’ for Barack Obama, the ‘hope and change’ president who, on current trajectory, seems destined for failure, with a legacy of declining prosperity at home and dispiriting American weakness abroad.[/release] [url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100099871/the-stunning-decline-of-barack-obama-2011-edition-10-key-reasons-why-the-obama-presidency-continues-to-meltdown/]Source[/url] It's a blog post, but they cite their sources pretty thoroughly. Obama is definitely losing control of the country, and while his administration preaches fiscal restraint and things like healthy eating to the country, while they continue to spend out of control and eat 1700 calorie hamburgers.

Well that's quite a list to digest on one sitting.

Well that is totally news and not an opinion piece in any way.

This article summed up my feelings on him perfectly. Edit: Box Fort for having a different opinion.

If Osama Bin Laden hadn't been killed during Obama's Presidency, I'm almost positive that Obama would face a struggle in 2012. After the budget deficit issue, I think Obama's credibility has been seriously dented. America wasn't far from bringing down most of the world into decline with a default, and it was under his watch. Americans are going to hold him responsible for that. Even if Obama wasn't at fault for a bunch of stubborn Republicans, a lot of Americans seemed to have gotten the impression that he was a doormat during the whole entire situation.

[QUOTE=Carbon Knight;31615877]Well that is totally news and not an opinion piece in any way.[/QUOTE] It's got sources cited. If The Young Turks can be posted here, I don't see why an article sourcing Rasmussen polls cannot.

I find this difficult to take seriously, mostly because it describes the Tea Party as a "truly grassroots movement" and "stunning success." Also, the term "liberal elites."

Well alright so it is an opinion piece, but at least Nile Gardiner is an unbiased individual with no political agenda. [quote]Nile Gardiner is a British conservative commentator[/quote]

[QUOTE=RichyZ;31615951]they are stunningly successful in that it stuns me that they are successful[/QUOTE] That's one way of putting it.

[quote]In contrast to Bill Clinton, who moved to the centre after the emphatic Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in 1994, [B]Barack Obama has shown little inclination to do so. This is a rigidly ideological presidency with a distinctly left-wing vision and agenda.[/B][/quote] [quote]While President Obama remains determined to shift the country to the Left, the American public is increasingly conservative in terms of ideology. There is a fundamental disconnect between [B]the most ideologically driven liberal president in US history[/B], and a large percentage of the American people.[/quote] [quote][B]10. The liberal elites are turning on the president[/B] One only has to read the pages of [B]The New York Times, the flagship of America’s liberal elites[/B][/quote] This is a disgusting joke of an article, and you should feel bad.

[QUOTE=Ridge;31615780]8. The Tea Party has been a stunning success[/QUOTE] Really?

Ridge, who would you like to see instead of Obama? Ron Paul and Palin? lmao

[QUOTE=Carbon Knight;31615968]Well alright so it is an opinion piece, but at least Nile Gardiner is an unbiased individual with no political agenda.[/QUOTE] British Conservative is still centrist to liberal in the US.

Fantastically unbias.

Defines the Tea Party as a rousing success and calls Obama a "Big Government Leftist". Yeah that pretty much dismisses this piece for good.

Actually it's terrible and Ridge is an awful poster, but we all knew that.

I wouldn't call the Tea Party a stunning success, but they did have the power to block serious legislature in Congress when others - even in the GOP - encouraged negotiation. Just look at the deficit crisis. If Congressional power isn't a sign of success, well, I don't know what is.

[QUOTE=Ridge;31616013]British Conservative is still centrist to liberal in the US.[/QUOTE] When you call the Tea Party great and call Obama a "Liberal Elite", you're an American Right-Winger. This guy would fit right into the Tea Party.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;31615996]Ridge, who would you like to see instead of Obama? Ron Paul and Palin? lmao[/QUOTE] Palin no. Perhaps Rand Paul. At least Ron and Rand stick to their guns and maintain their position on the topic. Ron Paul pushed for how many years to audit the Federal Reserve? And we finally do it this year and find that they secretely loaned out 16 TRILLION dollars to foreign banks and companies without Congressional approval??

Looks at point number 7, "Conservatism is growing stronger in America", don't you think this article might be a tiny bit biased? Also look at points 8 and 10's titles. Biased articles are really annoying to read, the author is usually really ignorant.

I like hearing liberal elite because they're pretty much saying that liberals are better

[QUOTE=Megafanx13;31616027]When you call the Tea Party great and call Obama a "Liberal Elite", you're an American Right-Winger. This guy would fit right into the Tea Party.[/QUOTE] I hope you don't mean that literally, because there's a huge cultural difference between British conservatism and American.

This article was written by a "conservative commentator" who is a "frequent contributor" to Fox News and who has "praised and appealed to the Tea Party movement" [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_Gardiner[/url]

How typical of people on both sides of the spectrum. If they disagree with the findings of the article, they simply dismiss it as "biased."

This thread does not belong in this forum as it is not a news article and I thought it specifically said not to post opinion pieces.

[QUOTE=RichyZ;31616050]the fact that they could just gather up together and not ruin the ground with their collective drool and lack of bladder control is amazingly successful[/QUOTE] You mean like the people did to the park out front of the State Capitol in Madison?

[QUOTE=smurfy;31616049]This article was written by a "conservative commentator" who is a "frequent contributor" to Fox News and who has "praised and appealed to the Tea Party movement" [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_Gardiner[/url][/QUOTE] Well sure maybe he is a bit biased but at least his articles draw reasonable intelectuals. [quote]Barack Obama has retaliated for the downgrading of the U.S. credit rating. In keeping with the Marxist tactic to attack anyone who says anything harmful, whether true or not, Italian authorities raided the Milan offices or Standard & Poor (S&P) and Moody’s rating agencies. [/quote] I like the part "Whether true or not".

What's funny is I bet Obama is going to get another 4 years because the conservatives are a victim of their own success. They've whipped their fundamentalist base up into such a frenzy that they've put fourth a bunch of screwball reactionaries that'll never get elected by the more centrist people.

[QUOTE=Ridge;31615919]It's got sources cited. If The Young Turks can be posted here, I don't see why an article sourcing Rasmussen polls cannot.[/QUOTE] Liberal Blog bashing republicans: 4 pages of insults and jokes Republican/Conservative news/cited blog story: not news, blogs not allowed, report, move along. Why am I not surprised?

[QUOTE=Carbon Knight;31615968]Well alright so it is an opinion piece, but at least Nile Gardiner is an unbiased individual with no political agenda.[/QUOTE] To be fair, nobody really complains when Staticman uses "rightwingwatch.org" Except me of course, but everyone ignores me anyway.