More Distressing News For The POTUS

by:Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Conservatism
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

Polling results are interesting. They provide a snapshot of the public's opinion with respect to the perceived job performance of the President.

The President's approval ratings are on a decided southward slide. With the nation's dismal economic performance and high unemployment following the stimulus package and bailouts it is no wonder his approval rating is tanking.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, who political experts say will need a win in Pennsylvania to retain the White House, dipped to 35 percent approval among the state's registered voters, according to a Muhlenberg College poll released Friday.

The results come on the heels of a bad week in polls for Obama that showed him first dropping to 39 percent nationwide in Gallup's daily tracking poll. Then another set of Gallup results Thursday showed only 26 percent of Americans approve of how Obama is handling the economy.

These numbers are a huge blow to Obama who won the state handily in 2008, and a significant drop in just a few weeks from when Quinnipiac University polled Pennsylvania voters and found the president with 43 percent job approval.

Even in traditional democratic strongholds such as PA the President is in trouble and continuing to sink. Whether the President has the insight and ability to turn the direction of his current trending remains to be seen.

In the Muhlenberg surveys alone, Obama has dropped more than 10 percentage points in less than six months. In March, he held steady with 48 percent. In April 2009, a few months after he started and just after the stimulus bill was passed, Obama was at 61 percent approval in the state.

With unemployment hovering at 9 percent, Pennsylvanians seem pessimistic about the economy. Asked if Obama's policies have helped or hurt the economy, just 23 percent said helped, 41 percent said hurt and 32 percent said his policies haven't made a difference.

It certainly appears, and solidly so, that the American people are waking up to this President's inability to lead and make a difference. Even given President Obama's intelligence his obvious lack of experience, both domestically and internationally has hindered his success in both areas.

However, in fairness to the President he has recently shown positive movement in efforts to cut bureaucratic spending of 5-10% in 2013 department budgets.

Bankrupting America: In advance of the President’s major speech after Labor Day laying out the Administration’s plan to reduce the national debt and encourage job creation, the White House has asked agencies to cut 5 to 10 percent from their fiscal year 2013 budget proposals.

The move comes on the heels of the debt ceiling agreement that formed a super-committee to identify $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction

Politco reports:

In a two-page memo this week, Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew warns that unless a department has been given explicit direction otherwise, “your overall agency request for 2013 should be at least 5 percent below your 2011 enacted discretionary appropriation.”

He then quickly adds: “As discussed at the recent Cabinet meetings, your 2013 budget submission should also identify additional discretionary funding reductions that would bring your request to a level that is at least 10 percent below your 2011 enacted discretionary appropriation.”

Lew writes that he wants to see real cuts from discretionary appropriations and even warns against a tactic he has frequently used himself in negotiating with Republicans: substituting savings from mandatory benefit or subsidy programs also funded through the appropriations bills.

More from Bloomberg.

It’s encouraging to see the White House making such requests. However, agencies should have been making such cuts long before now. For years the federal government has spent far beyond its means. That’s why we find ourselves in this difficult situation where significant spending reductions have become necessary. Washington must make cuts now, in FY2013 and in the future until spending is returned to a sustainable path.

As Bankrupting America points out while these are encouraging signs such budgetary cuts and restraint ought to have become the norm rather than the exception quite some time ago.

Via: Memeorandum