Marist Poll: Obama "Disappointer in Chief"

Very catchy, isn't it?

47% of registered voters nationwide report President Obama has fallen below their expectations. 42% say he has met their expectations while just 7% think he has exceeded them. Slightly more members of the electorate currently think the president has let them down compared with Marist’s December survey. At that time, 42% thought Mr. Obama missed the mark while 44% said he met their expectations. 9% reported Obama surpassed their expectations.

The all-important Independents are not happy:

Perhaps, particularly concerning for Mr. Obama is the drop in support among Independents. For the first time since taking office, a majority of Independents -- 57% -- disapproves of how he is doing in the role. 29% approve, and 14% are unsure.

Not surprisingly, Democrats and Republicans are polarized. 81% of Democrats approve of the president’s job performance while a similar proportion of Republicans -- 80% -- disapproves.

"If attracting Independents and bipartisanship are the aim, then the president clearly has a lot of ground to cover in year two," says Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist Institute for Public Opinion. 

 The only slack Independents give Obama is not surprising, they believe the economic situation was inherited. I guess we'll be hearing more from Barack the Blameaholic.  Obama may have difficulty undoing much of the damage his failure to provide transparency and bipartisanship in the health care debates with a half day bipartisan discussion on health care.  Perhaps if they had tried that from the outset, they'd have passed health care legislation by now.

 Ed Morrissey makes an interesting observation in his analysis of the poll:

Obama can’t rely on personal favorability for much longer, either.  Consistently across all pollsters, Obama generally has solid majorities of people that personally like him.  Not any longer; among all Marist respondents, that number is down to 50%, losing five points since December.  A majority of independents (52%) hold an unfavorable view of Obama personally, up nine points in two months.

 I have often thought that people were reluctant to answer the question about Obama's personal favorability with anything other than a positive.  Poll after poll showed a disconnect between Obama's personal approval and his policies.  This was bound to change especially as anger grows over Obama's singular devotion to health care while unemployment numbers continued to rise to historic levels.

Marist seems concerned about his chances for reelection and reveals something of a bias in the hypothetical matchup for 2012 they polled:

Looking at a three-way 2012 presidential contest between President Obama, former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Obama receives 44% of the vote, Republican Palin garners 29%, and Independent Bloomberg nets 15%.

A Bloomberg candidacy helps Mr. Obama’s cause. Although Palin receives majority support -- 57% -- from the GOP, Bloomberg snatches 20% of the vote within the party. Among Democrats, Bloomberg only receives 4%. Democrats are firmly behind Obama with 84% tossing their support to him. Looking at Independents, 31% back Obama, and 27% support Palin. 24% report they would cast their ballot for Bloomberg.

The clear message to Democrats is divide and conquer.   Naturally, conservatives and the Republican party should be wary of third party candidates and rally behind the primary winner.

Via Memeorandum