Obama's Latest Polls Lead to a Santa Claus Wish List

President Obama's job approval rating has sunk to the lowest levels of his presidency. It is a dramatic reversal of his large lead over Republicans just after his re-election victory a year ago. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted December 12-15 shows that approval rates of both parties in Congress continue to be worse than the president's, but Obama's approval numbers have plummeted sharply as the public increasingly blames him for the country's policy setbacks, including the catastrophic rollout of Obamacare. Forty-three percent of the 1,005 adults surveyed approve of the job Obama is doing, but 55% disapprove. At this time last year, the numbers were reversed with 54% giving the President a positive job approval rating compared to 42% who disapproved. Obama's collapse "is all the more striking when compared with his standing a year ago, as he was preparing for his second inauguration after a solid re-election victory," the Post said."That high note proved fleeting as the president faced a series of setbacks, culminating in the botched rollout of his Affordable Care Act two months ago." In similar polls, every other two-term president since World War II had an approval rating of at least 50% in their fifth year, with the exception of Richard Nixon who was embroiled in the Watergate scandal, the Post said. Obama's plummeting figures are already triggering alarm among Democrats who fear the party's fortunes will suffer in the 2014 mid-term elections. They worry they could lose control of the Senate and fail to pick up seats in the House. Obama and Republicans are now tied on who is seen as better able to handle the country's problems at 41%. One year ago, the president held a 15-point advantage on that question. Obama's lead has also eroded on who Americans believe is more capable to handle the economy, with 45% saying it's congressional Republicans compared to 41% who believe it's the president. "Preference for the GOP approach over Obama’s in handling budget cuts vs. maintaining needed programs has risen since the shutdown by 18 points among independents and also by 18 points among adults younger than age 30, customarily a strong Obama group but one in which he lost ground sharply last month," ABC said in its report of the poll. On the question of who is better placed to protect the middle class, Obama's lead has dropped by 20 points, from 26% to a shockingly low 6%. The findings hold true across all the key groups who were instrumental in the President's electoral successes, including women, liberals and the under-30s. Meanwhile, approval of the job congressional lawmakers are doing continues to remain at near historic lows at just 16%. The poll also found that voters are evenly divided on which party they would support in the 2014 races for the House. The eight-point advantage Democrats held in the wake of October's government shutdown has eroded to just two points, standing at 47%, compared to 45% who say they would back the GOP. By comparison, Democrats also had a two point lead just before the 2010 midterm elections which saw an influx of Republicans elected to the House. Disapproval of Obama's handling of the implementation of his signature healthcare law stands at 62% while disapproval of his handling of the economy is at 55%. Both figures are largely unchanged from a poll last month. The poll also found that almost half of all Americans think Obamacare will result in an overall worse standard of healthcare in the country, and six in 10 believe it will mean higher overall costs. Still, roughly six in 10 say they expect the quality and coverage of their own care will likely be about the same as before the new law. ~~~~~ Dear readers, I have a Santa Claus Wish List : (1). President Obama admits defeat and asks Congress to repeal Obamacare so that a bipartisan congressional committee, aided by experts, can repair the damage done by Obamacare and offer a program to provide health care to the 15% of Ameticans who do not have coverage now. (2). President Obama asks Paul Ryan to head a bipartisan taskforce to recommend and steer through Congress a package of tax code changes that will finally enable American business to get a real US economic recovery underway, instead of the current Federal Reserve fake recovery. (3). President Obama will direct the Secretary of the Treasury to work with the chairmen of the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees and the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee to propose both a balanced budget act and a formal plan to systematically reduce America's external debt owed to China and other countries. ~~~~~ Now if I can just convince Santa Claus to whisper in the President's ear -- wouldn't that be the best 2013 Christmas present America and the world could possibly receive?