Opinions of both President Obama and the Congress have taken a slide in the last week, as the debate about extending the Bush-era tax cuts continues. In this week's Economist/YouGov Poll, the President's approval rating reached his lowest rating ever. Only 39% of Americans approve of the way he is handling his job, while 53% disapprove.
Last week, the Presidents' approval rating matched his previous all-time low of 40%.
One in three of those who currently disapprove of the way the President is handling his job claim they once approved of his performance, and 14% of those say they changed their minds about him as recently as the last two weeks.
While respondent memory as to exactly when their minds change can sometimes be faulty, there are other indications in this poll that the recent debates have taken their toll on the President. Just after the midterm elections, nearly half the public said they believed Barack Obama was a strong leader. In this week's poll, only 40% believe that. 60% describe him as a weak leader.
Last July more than half of Americans said they believed Barack Obama cared about the needs and problems of people like themselves. Now just 46% do. More than half say he does not.
Nearly a third of Democrats see President Obama as a weak leader; 21% say he does not care about people like themselves.
40% of Americans say the President has accomplished less than they expected --- and that figure includes 34% of Democrats.
Congress fares even more poorly with the public than it usually does. Only 9% of Americans approve of the way Congress is handling its job; ten times as many, 71%, disapprove.
Most Americans have little or no confidence in the Congressional leadership --- of either party. 50% have little or no confidence in the leaders of the Republicans in Congress; 55% have little or no confidence in the leadership of the Congressional Democrats. Fewer than one in ten express a great deal of confidence in either party's leaders.
How much confidence do you have in the leaders of...
| A great deal | Quite a bit | Only some | Very little | None at all | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republicans in Congress | 5% | 14% | 21% | 18% | 32% | 9% |
Democrats in Congress | 6% | 11% | 19% | 22% | 33% | 9% |
While both branches have seen public support for them personally slip this week, there is support for the overall compromise that was reached on tax cut extensions and other economic changes.
Asked specifically if the Bush-era tax cuts should be extended for all Americans, or only for those with incomes below $250,000, by 46% to 33%, Americans say they would extend them only for those earning less than $250,000. 7% would let all of them expire. But when asked about extending the tax cuts temporarily for everyone (which is what the plan does), Americans favor that, 46% to 32%.
And when asked about extending jobless benefits (also a part of the compromise), Americans favor that, 55% to 29%.
However, Americans aren't sure what the overall impact of the compromise proposal is. Just about as many say it will hurt the economy as say it will help. And as they did last week, more than four in ten see no relationship between extending the tax cuts and creating jobs.
The debate has certainly reminded the public once again about the perilous state of the economy. And it may have hurt public perceptions of how the President is handling the country's most important issue. Just 31% of Americans approve of the way Barack Obama is handling the economy --- and 61% disapprove. This marks the lowest rating for the President on the economy.
