The Presidency Gets Downgraded on the Economy

President Obama’s approval rating on his handling of the economy has hit an all-time low. It is likely it would not matter who was president when it comes to how this near-recession is viewed.

Gallup reports that “A new low of 26% of Americans approve of President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy, down 11 percentage points since Gallup last measured it in mid-May and well below his previous low of 35% in November 2010.”

The concerns about the lack of GDP growth and high unemployment have created an environment of deep worry among Americans. Many still hold onto the fantasy that the federal government, and particularly the president, can fix such things. History proves that is not true. Even FDR’s work to end the Great Depression had little effect in comparison to the start of World War II.

The other factor in the drop of Obama’s ratings in the Gallup poll is the bitter political fight over the deficit and the increase in the debt ceiling. He is certainly blamed for half of this, in the mind of the public. Americans who watched the messy debate tagged one side or the other as the party that pushed issues to the brink. It is easier to blame the individual who sits in the White House over a large group of congressmen.

Whatever the cause of his drop in approval ratings on the economy, the president is stuck with it. He has just started working toward new programs to create jobs, as well as to stimulate the dying growth that began last year and stumbled sometime the middle of this one. But there is no money to spare for new programs, at least as far as many Americans are concerned. The federal vault has little money left in it. That leaves the economy to recover without government help, a process many economists say has happened naturally after past recessions. Obama may get credit for a rebound, though he will not deserve it, just as he does not entirely deserve the poll ratings today.

Methodology: Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Aug. 11-14, 2011, with a random sample of 1,008 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Douglas A. McIntyre