Disenchanted With Obama For Different Reasons

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National Journal:


Disenchanted With Obama For Different Reasons
THE PRESIDENT'S GRADES HAVE FALLEN, IN SOME CASES FASTER, AMONG GROUPS THAT SUPPORTED HIM IN 2008.
by Ronald Brownstein
Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010

Two distinct storms are converging on Democrats, although the difference may matter more to President Obama in 2012 than to party legislators bracing for a deluge now.

One of the storms is powered mostly by ideology; the other mostly by performance. Obama's agenda has ignited a fierce ideological backlash that is strongest among the elements of the white electorate that most resisted him in 2008 -- blue-collar men and women, and men with college degrees. His approach hasn't generated nearly as much ideological recoil in the "coalition of the ascendant" groups that keyed his 2008 victory -- minorities, young people, and college-educated white women. But his support among these voters is weakening as their frustration over the economy mounts.

Each of these trends threatens congressional Democrats in the midterm election. The contrast between them, however, may be critical to Obama's hopes of recovering by 2012 from what could be a very painful 2010. "There's a big difference," says veteran Republican pollster Bill McInturff, "between what happens from now until November and Obama's re-election."

The latest Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll released on September 10 captures these two discrete strains of disenchantment. The survey, which was conducted from August 27 through 30 and examines Americans' attitudes toward the economy, documents growing dissatisfaction with Obama's performance among virtually all major groups except for African-Americans.