Our poll indicates something rather disturbing.
President Obama made his announcement on Libya on August 22nd. He touted a legitimate foreign policy success.
Yet, the DK/PPP poll, which was taken from August 25th to the 28th, plenty of time for the news on Libya to factor into the polls, indicated no movement whatsoever for the President's job approval. In fact, he's suffered a bit more decline.
Why?
I'd posit that the reason is rather straightforward: THE ECONOMY THE ECONOMY THE ECONOMY.
Today from Bloomberg:
Confidence among U.S. consumers plunged to the lowest level in more than two years as Americans’ outlooks for employment and incomes soured.
The Conference Board’s index slumped to 44.5, the weakest since April 2009, from a revised 59.2 reading in July, figures from the New York-based research group showed today. It was the biggest point drop since October 2008. A separate report showed home prices declined for a ninth month.
Treasury yields dropped on concern consumers will pull back on the spending that makes up about 70 percent of the economy, increasing the risk of a recession. An unemployment rate above 9 percent, partisan bickering over the budget deficit and a volatile stock market weighed on sentiment.
“This paints a picture of underlying demand weakening,” said Bricklin Dwyer, an economist at BNP Paribas in New York, whose forecast of 45 was most accurate in a Bloomberg News survey. “Consumers are seeing their wealth deteriorate. We’ve seen a huge decline continuing in the housing market. They’ve also been hit on the chin by the equity markets.”
Jobs. Jobs. Jobs. Nothing else matters.
Go big, Mr. President. What have you got to lose?