A product of a politically polarized population is the consensus answer to the general question of President Obama’s job performance.
CNN, The Economist, Gallup, and Rasmussen Reports each conducted polls over the weekend, seeking to answer that very question. The consensus is that Americans generally disapprove of the job he is doing, but the matter of how much they disapprove is still very much in question.
At one end of the spectrum, The Economist found 56 percent of Americans disapprove, while 42 percent approved of the manner in which he was leading the country.The breakdown was as follows: 20 percent strongly approve, 22 percent somewhat approve, 12 percent somewhat disapprove, and 44 percent strongly disapprove.
However, the same poll found an overwhelming majority of Americans—66 percent compared to 26 percent—felt the U.S. was headed in the wrong direction. Congress also received much lower approval marks than the president with 70 percent saying they disapprove of its job performance, compared to just 10 percent who approved.
On the other end of the spectrum, Gallup’s three-day rolling average had those who approved and disapproved of Obama’s job performance tied at 48 percent each. CNN’s poll showed Obama at 47 percent approval, compared to 52 percent disapproval.
Rasmussen Reports, however, found 53 percent of Americans disapprove of the job the president is doing, while 46 percent approved. The break-down is: 24 percent strongly approve, 22 percent somewhat approve, 11 percent somewhat disapprove, and 42 percent strongly disapprove.
The same poll found 66 percent of Americans feel the nation is on the wrong track, while 26 percent said it was headed in the right direction. It also found that in a head-to-head match-up, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were in a statistical tie.
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