Are the American People Starting to Catch On?

Posted By Bobby Eberle On June 23, 2009 at 7:21 am

We are all told that Barack Obama is personally popular. He's called a great orator (teleprompter included), charming, smooth, likable, and more. The list of positive adjectives provided by the media continues to grow as they fall more and more in love with him.

When push comes to shove, however, a president will have to face up to the policies that are being advocated. Have Obama and the Democrats overplayed their hand with this massive move to the left? It appears so, as more and more Americans are starting to take a second look at Obama's health care plan and other policies. I guess this is not the "change" they were expecting.

Scott Rasmussen has recently released a series of polls that paint a clear picture of Americans in transition. Americans are growing more and more leary of Obama's plans and are starting to see his efforts as hurting more than helping the economy.

According to one Rasmussen Poll, "39% of voters now say the country’s economic problems are caused more by the policies Obama has put in place." That number reflects a 12-point jump from just one month ago. More people (54%) "still say the country’s economic woes are due to the recession Obama inherited from President Bush," but that number is down 8 points in less than a month.

In another incredible result, more people trust themselves over Obama on the issue of the economy:

Sixty percent (60%) of voters now trust their own economic judgment more than the president’s. In early February, 49% had more trust in themselves while 39% trusted the president more.

Now only 30% trust Obama more when it comes to the economic issues facing the nation.

On the issue of health care, according to a Rasmussen poll, the American public remains split on what to do. That simple result should send a message to Obama to slow down, but it doesn't. Obama is pressing full steam ahead with a left-wing approach to health care, and the American people are undecided.

According to Rasmussen, 44% of Americans "say the Obama administration should wait on health care reform until the economy improves," while 43% say "health care reform should move ahead now."

This is significant in that Obama has mounted a full court press on health care over the last month or so, but the American public is not moving in his direction. Over the last month, public support for moving ahead now on health care has remained statistically unchanged.

One of the aspects of health care that has been in the news lately is the fact that Obama and the Democrats are pushing for a national requirement to force every single American to purchase health insurance. The American people are overwhelmingly opposed to this. When asked, "Should every American be required to buy health insurance?", 61% said no, 22% said yes, and 17% were undecided.

There are a number of factors working against Obama regarding health care. First, the American people are starting to say, "Enough already!" Every problem Obama sees comes with a big-government remedy. More government is NOT the American way. Second, the issue of health care is just not as important as Obama and the media make it out to be.

According to another Rasmussen poll, the issue of health care has dropped to its lowest level of importance "in nearly two years of tracking."

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 49% of voters see health care as a very important issue. That’s down from 61% in early May and 62% in April. This is the first time since August 2007 that the majority of voters do not see the issue as very important.

Seventeen percent (17%) of voters now say health care is not very or not at all important, the highest result found during that same time period.

Support for health care reform as a presidential priority also has dropped as more voters think President Obama should work harder on his promise to cut the federal deficit in half in the next four years.

The key for stopping Obama's latest push on government-run health care is to keep up the pressure. As we have seen with failed immigration reform, when enough of the public speak out, Congress might actually listen.