US Electorates Less Optimistic about Obama Presidency: Poll

A new poll has suggested that US voters, who elected Barack Obama as President, are less optimistic about his ability to succeed and no longer favour keeping the Democrats in control of Congress, reported IANS.

A poll by new Wall Street Journal/NBC News points to an increasingly difficult political climate for Obama as he aspires to push his domestic agenda beyond health care and to preserve his party’s majorities in the House and Senate, said report.

Trends suggest that Obama’s personal popularity continues to be high across a large group of electorate but there is decline of high support for his agenda that Democrats enjoyed when he assumed office a year ago, report said quoting Wall Street Journal.

Voters are even divided nationally over which party, according to them, will run Capitol Hill after the November elections – which will be the first time Democrats will not be having the edge on that question since December 2003, said report.

Furthermore, Republicans are far more excited than Democrats to come out and cast their franchise in November. Polls show 55 percent of Republican as ‘very interested’ in the election as compared to 38 percent of democrats, report said.

According to poll, a majority of voters don’t approve of the job Obama is doing on health care.

Three-quarters liked Obama, suggested poll, with only 22 percent being ‘optimistic and confident’ about his presidency, a 10-point decline from a year ago, report said. However, 27 percent were ‘pessimistic and worried’ about his presidency, as compared to 9 per cent a year ago, when many hoped he would lead the nation into an economic recovery.

Overall, 48 percent said that they approved of the job Obama is doing, while 43 percent disapproved-about the same as last month but down sharply from approval ratings in the 60 per cent range in his early months in office, report said.