"You’re (to a conservative older man) hurt because everything's changed (in Britain),Alison tells him, and Jimmy’s (angry radical) hurt because everything's stayed the same." from John Osborne’s 1956 play—Look Back in Anger
Keep that thought in mind as I discuss plausible (at least to me) reasons for President Obama’s relatively low approval ratings.
The Gallup Poll reports that President Obama’s approval ratings (which are approximately 50%) for the first August of his term are lower than six of his seven predecessors. Bill Clinton was the only President with lower approval ratings. (Click here for the Gallup Report’s data on presidential approval ratings.)
Maybe, President Obama like President Clinton tried to change America too much, too soon. Everything (physicists tell us) resists change. You know—a body at rest tends to stay at rest; a body in motion tends to stay in motion.
This administration has made history by appointing the first Hispanic jurist to the U.S. Supreme Court—Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
Thanks in part to the Obama administration’s stimulus package, the great recession of 2007-2009 has abated (according to the Congressional Budget Office).
After eight years of rest on economic and social issues under baby Bush’s administration, the Obama administration has tried to make history by proposing climate control measures, by trying to reform America’s antiquated health care system, and by fighting for “The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.”
Or perhaps, the new America under Obama seems for many to be like the old America under George W.
President Obama, like George W. Bush, has tabled alternative energy initiatives. Like George W. Bush, President Obama is supporting the offshore drilling of oil. Moreover, Obama’s energy policies have helped (either directly or indirectly) the financial interests of his political cronies.
The Wall Street Journal (August 18. 2009) has reported that President Obama has underwritten offshore drilling in Brazilian waters. Interestingly, George Soros (an early and enthusiastic supporter of Obama) has been purchasing large amounts of stock in Petroleo Brasileiro SA-Petrobras, a Brazilian petrochemical giant.
Remember those evil hedge fund firms and investment banking firms that were the cause of all our financial evils. They are doing quite well under the Obama administration’s economic policies. Some say that they are doing better than ever. The Washington Post claims that those 'too big to fail' banks have grown even bigger and more powerful. According to Yahoo Finance, hedge funds are hiring again after downturn.
Yet, the economic recovery has not occurred for many Americans. Data from the U.S. Department of Commerce have indicated that disposable income was slightly lower in August than in previous months. There is a projected 38% fall in U.S. farm income for 2009. The employment for young people has hit a record low.
To many Americans, the Obama administration has been one of the most liberal in history. Everything is changing, with more change (such as taxes) on the way.
To me, America has stayed roughly the same. The financial markets (rather than the manufacturing sectors) control the American economy. The economic winners and losers in this economic recovery are the (types of) people who have been America’s economic winners and losers since the Reagan presidency.
Perhaps then, the Obama administration cannot win. The more conservative and more established Americans are fearful because America is moving forward. They are fearful that the Reagan era of tax cuts is finally over.
The more liberal (and mostly less established) Americans are angry because the Obama administration is not moving far nor fast enough. They (including myself) are angry because the New Deal and The Great Society seem to be forever dead.
Looking back in fear or anger appears to be the current state of America’s body politic.
