PUBLIC CONFIDENCE in US president Barack Obama’s leadership has declined sharply over the summer, amid intensifying opposition to healthcare reform that threatens to undercut his attempt to enact major changes to the system, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Among all Americans, 49 per cent now express confidence that Mr Obama will make the right decisions for the country, down from 60 per cent at the 100-day mark in his presidency. Forty-nine per cent now say they think he will be able to spearhead significant improvements in the system, down nearly 20 percentage points from before he took office.
As challenges to Mr Obama’s initiatives have mounted, pessimism has risen. Fifty-five per cent now see things as pretty seriously on the wrong track, up from 48 per cent in April. But there has been a notable increase in optimism about the length of the recession: half of all Americans expect it to be over within the next 12 months. In February, just 28 per cent said it would end that rapidly.
Mr Obama’s economic stimulus plan has come under attack from Republicans, who say it has failed to bring tangible benefits. But in the poll, almost twice as many say the programme has made things better as say it has made things worse (43 per cent to 23 per cent), with a third saying the plan has had no effect.
The president’s overall approval rating stands at 57 per cent, 12 points lower than its April peak, as disapproval has ticked up to 40 per cent, its highest yet. On specific issues, Mr Obama received more mixed marks. A majority, 53 per cent, now disapprove of his handling of the federal budget deficit, while on the economy, 52 per cent approve of his actions, unchanged from June.
Despite the decline in general confidence in Mr Obama, there is still little competition in the battle for public trust: just 21 per cent say they think congressional Republicans would make the right decisions for the country’s future, while 35 per cent have confidence in Democrats.
Disapproval of Mr Obama’s handling of the healthcare issue reached 50 per cent in the new poll, the highest of his presidency, with 42 per cent strongly disapproving. Support for the president’s actions on reform has dropped most sharply among retired citizens and independent voters.
The poll was completed just as a new debate about a public health insurance option erupted after administration officials appeared to signal their willingness to jettison the proposal as part of an eventual compromise. White House officials later insisted that there had been no change in their support for the public option as they sought to reassure Democrats furious about what they regarded as an administration cave-in.
In the survey, 52 per cent of Americans said they favoured the government’s creation of a new health insurance plan to compete with private insurers, while 46 per cent were opposed. In late June, 62 per cent backed the notion and 33 per cent opposed it.
The drop in support for the public option has been particularly steep among political independents, the closely watched group so critical to the Democratic takeover of Congress in 2006 and Mr Obama’s victory. Two months ago, independents supported the public option by a two-to-one margin. Now, 50 per cent are in favour, and 47 per cent are opposed.
Fifty-one per cent are now behind the notion that government action is needed to control costs and expand coverage, with 46 per cent seeing such measures as doing more harm than good. Two months ago, proponents outnumbered opponents by a wide margin.
Mr Obama faces an increasingly polarised environment as he campaigns on healthcare. Fifty per cent of those surveyed say they oppose the proposals advanced by the president and congressional Democrats, while 45 per cent support them. Forty per cent strongly oppose the plans, while 27 per cent are solidly behind them.