Published: April 30, 2009
Obama Administration Gets Negative Marks in First 100 Days
President personally popular; proposals & appointees aren't
Washington, D.C. - While President Obama continues to enjoy 63 percent approval ratings, according to a recent CNN/Opinion Research Poll, a majority of Americans are opposed to the president's cabinet choices and proposals, according to a new Zogby International/O'Leary Report 100-Days Poll.
The poll covered a broad range of questions from frozen credit markets and gun control to energy and media diversity. "Sooner or later the public's opposition to the President's proposals will eventually take its toll on his job approval numbers. The dichotomy between President Obama's personal popularity and his unpopular proposals cannot continue. How long will the President ride a wave of popularity if his objectives are out-of-synch with most Americans?" asked Brad O'Leary, president and publisher of The O'Leary Report and author of Shut Up, America! The End of Free Speech (WND Books).
Results of the Zogby International/O'Leary Report Poll reveal fissures in the Obama Administration's agenda:
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner recently told a congressional oversight panel that the credit markets may be thawing following their deep freeze. The Zogby/O'Leary Report poll shows that only 38 percent of Americans feel that Secretary Geithner has done an excellent or good job while 54 percent of Americans feel he's done a poor or fair job.
Q. How would you rate President Obama's job at un-freezing the credit markets for small businesses who need loans to expand or survive?
Excellent 14%
Good 24%
Fair 18%
Poor 36%
Not sure 8%
Q. Thinking about the Tea Party demonstrations that took place on April 15th to protest the growth in taxes and federal government spending, do you.?
Strongly support the beliefs of the organizers 45%
Somewhat support them 12%
Somewhat oppose their beliefs 12%
Strongly oppose them 27%
Not sure 4%
Attorney General Eric Holder & Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel:
Obama's anti-gun duo of Attorney General Eric Holder and Rahm Emanuel, the President's Chief of Staff continue to call for gun control against a chorus of Congressional members who have no desire to tackle the hot-button issue before the next election. That chorus also includes 71 percent of Americans who said that the government should enforce the laws already on the books while only 25 percent said new gun laws should be passed.
Q. Do you think new gun laws should be passed or do you think we should enforce the laws already on the books.
New gun laws should be passed 25%
Enforce the laws already on the books 71%
Not sure 4%
Rahm Emanuel recently told the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence that if you are on the "No-Fly" list you should not be able to buy a gun. When voters were asked what they thought of this statement when asked to consider that many people are placed on this list through mistaken identity, 69 percent of the voter said that only those individuals on the "No-Fly" list with criminal convictions should be prohibited from buying guns compared to only 20 percent who felt anyone on the list should not be able to buy a gun.
Q. The President's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, recently stated that the 1 million people the government put on the "no fly" list should be prohibited from purchasing a gun, even if they are not guilty of a felony or crime and they may not even be the correct person who is targeted by the list. With respect to the "no fly" list which statement do you support - A or B?
A: People on the no fly list should be prohibited from buying a gun
B: People on the no-fly list should be prohibited from buying a gun only if
they are convicted of a crime
Statement A 20%
Statement B 69%
Not sure 11%
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano
Fifty-eight percent of the voters said they found statements in the recent Department of Homeland Security on right-wing extremists to be inappropriate. Only 27 percent of the voters thought the report was a good warning for America.
Q. The Department of Homeland Security recently issued a report to 850,000 law enforcement officers that focused on the potential terrorist threat from disgruntled veterans and people dedicated to a single issue, such as abortion and the Second Amendment. Do you think these groups are. . .?
This statement is inappropriate and these people are not a threat to America 58%
This is a good warning and these people are dangerous 27%
No opinion 15%
Acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps / FCC Chairman Designate Julius Genachowski
The backdoor plan to hush conservative talk radio is already afoot. The Acting FCC Chair Michael Copps announced on April 22nd the members of a new advisory council on media diversity. Copps is pushing this effort in concert with the President and incoming FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski despite 51 percent of Americans who oppose this idea compared to 41 percent who favor the idea.
Q. Senator Durbin recently offered an amendment in the U.S. Senate that requires the Federal Communications Commission to take actions to encourage and promote diversity in communication media ownership. Opponents say the move would threaten the breakup of radio networks that largely carry conservative talk radio shows like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Do you support or oppose this legislation?
Support 41%
Oppose 51%
Not sure 8%
Energy Secretary Steven Chu
On Earth Day, Secretary Chu warmly embraced the administration's cap-and-trade proposal, stating, "We must state in no uncertain terms we have a responsibility to our children to curb emissions from fossil fuels." Yet 57 percent of the voters oppose this scheme and the resulting leap in taxes it would create for struggling families. Only 30 percent support cap-and-trade laws.
Q. President Obama wants to impose cap-and-trade laws that would limit the total carbon dioxide emissions allowed to be released into the environment. These laws would turn carbon dioxide into a commodity allowing those that pollute less to sell credits to those that pollute more. These credits would be traded on commodities markets. According to congressional testimony given by the Director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, "decreasing emissions would also impose costs on the economy - much of those costs will be passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices for energy and energy intensive goods." Some have estimated these costs to be $800 to $1300 more per household by 2015. Knowing this, do you support or oppose cap-and-trade laws?
Support 30%
Oppose 57%
Not sure 13%
When the voters were asked to choose between cheaper energy by developing all sources of U.S. energy or to reduce America's reliance on fossil fuels, 54 percent responded they'd like to see all sources of energy developed including offshore drilling, nuclear power and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Q. Which course of action should America take with regards to energy policy?
Make energy cheaper by developing all sources of U.S. energy,
including coal, nuclear power, offshore drilling and drilling
in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 54%
Reduce America's production of fossil fuels
that might cause global warming 40%
Not sure 6%
Education Secretary Arne Duncan
Last month, Education Secretary Arne Duncan let Congress kill a District of Columbia voucher program while he was sitting on evidence of its success. The move is not likely to sit well with parents of children who succeeded under that voucher program. Sixty-one percent of the voters disagreed with Obama and his Education Secretary's decision to kill off the program. Only 23 percent of the voters thought ending the program was the right move.
Q. President Obama's Education Secretary recently rescinded 200 scholarships previously awarded through the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, a school choice program that allows low-income students to attend private schools. Despite a Department of Education study that showed the program is a great success, the Obama administration wants to bring the program to an end and return those students to public schools in Washington, D.C.. Do you agree or disagree with the Obama administration?
Agree 23%
Disagree 61%
Not sure 16%
The O'Leary Report/Zogby poll was conducted April 24-27 of 3,937 voters nationwide and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 1.6 percentage points. Slight weights were added to party, age, race, gender, education to more accurately reflect the population. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.
Brad O'Leary is publisher of "The O'Leary Report," a bestselling author, and is a former NBC Westwood One talk show host. His new book, "Shut Up, America! The End of Free Speech," is now in bookstores. To see more poll results, go to www.olearyreport.com. To book Brad for an interview, contact Heather Philpot at (703) 272-1508, or heatherphilpot@pm-direct.com.
Source: U.S. Department of State
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