How low can O go?

Today's Rasmussen poll on Obama's job approval puts the number who rate his performance as excellent at just 27%. That's down from 44-45% in January and from the high 30's as late as mid June. So in two months fully 10% of the electorate no longer thinks that obama has done an excellent job according to this daily poll. More important, 41% of the electorate now rates Obama's job performance as poor. These folks are not likely to switch their opinions any time soon. It takes an active dislike of the president's policies for someone to rate his job performance as poor. To have 41% of the voters in this category is an ominous sign for the administration. The congressional democrats are not blind to these results, and it will become progressively harder for Obama to win his battles if his political standing continues to deteriorate or even stays constant at this level. After two years of non-stop criticism of Bush by Obama, Obama is now turning into Bush -- at least as far s his approval ratings are concerned.

The real question at the moment is whether or not Obama can stabilize his ratings. while his job approval is sinking, his approval on specific issues is going even lower. The issue questions are usually a leading indicator of where the overall job approval is going, so we may soon see Obama with overall ratings in the low 40's or even the high 30's. Clearly, Obama's speeches about health care are not making much difference. He is out there so often saying the ame thing again and again, that no one much is listening anymore. Obama says that we can keep our insurance plans if we want. Then he says it again and again and again. By now, anyone who was paying attention has heard that the statement he is making is basically false. Even the CBO agrees. But it does not stop Obama. He also has a routine that he does about not pulling the plug on Grandma, but he still has yet to explain how he can cut medicare by half a trillion dollars without rationing care for those who are too old or infirm to benefit much from treatment. In other words, he says he won't do it, but his plan basically calls for pulling the plug on Grandma. In short, Obama has forfeited his credibility by attempting to win approval for his plan based upon demonstrable lies. That is a harsh way of stating it, but the only alternative one can have is that Obama simply does not understand the terms and the impact of the plan he is pushing. The choice: Obama is either a liar or an idiot. I do not believe he is an idiot, so that leaves liar as the likely choice.

As more and more people come to realize this basic truth, Obama's number will continue to fall along with all of the other Obamacrats. The bleeding could stop if Obama throws in the towel on health care and cap and trade. He could then try to tinker around the edges of health care and announce a victory that many in the media would pronouce historic. It is too late to regain his status as the chosen one. Fast action could restore support to him, but delay will strip that away for the rest of his term