The FINANCIAL — As President Obama continues his push for health care reform legislation and tackles the issue of jobs, his job ratings have been holding steady over the past few months.
Currently, two in five U.S. adults (41%) give the job the president is doing a positive rating while 59% give it a negative rating. In January, almost the same numbers gave him positive ratings (40%) and negative ones (60%).
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,320 adults surveyed online between March 1 and 8, 2010 by Harris Interactive.
Looking at political party, while it may not be too surprising that almost nine in ten Republicans (88%) give the president negative ratings, 61% of Independents and 30% of Democrats feel the same. In fact, among Democrats, only one in five (19%) would rate the job President Obama is doing as excellent.
There are also differences among generations. Baby Boomers (those aged 46-64) are President Obama's "strongest" supporters as 54% give the president negative ratings followed by 57% of Echo Boomers (those aged 18-33). On the other hand, over two thirds (68%) of Matures (those aged 65 and older) give the president negative ratings as do 63% of Gen Xers (those aged 34-45).
Low point for Congress
Just one in ten Americans (10%) give Congress a positive rating for the overall job they are doing while 90% give them negative marks, with half (51%) saying they are doing a poor job – the lowest rating. This is down from the 16% in January who gave them positive ratings and is the lowest they have been for this Congress.
Democrats may be in control of Congress, but they cannot blame Republicans for this low number. While just 5% of Republicans and 8% of Independents give Congress positive marks, less than one in five Democrats (17%) give Congress a positive rating.
Another number that has moved down is the direction Americans think things in the country are going. After staying at 37% since November, this month the number of U.S. adults who believe things in the country are going in the right direction has dropped to 33% while 67% say things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track.
So What?
In eight months, voters will head to the polls in congressional elections. Besides the low job ratings they currently have, members of Congress also have one other concern. Only 4% of Matures currently give them positive ratings and three-quarters of them (73%) give them a poor rating. These are the people who are most likely to come out in November to vote. If this negativity holds, incumbents from both parties may find themselves in trouble.
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