Gallup Links Health Care Reform to President's Declining Approval Ratings

Yesterday, the Gallup Poll reported that President Obama's average approval ratings in the third quarter dropped to 53 percent; down from 62 percent in Q2 and 63 percent in Q1.

...the 9-point drop in the most recent quarter is the largest Gallup has ever measured for an elected president between the second and third quarters of his term, dating back to 1953. One president who was not elected to his first term -- Harry Truman -- had a 13-point drop between his second and third quarters in office in 1945 and 1946.

Why?

The dominant political focus for Obama in the third quarter was the push for healthcare reform, including his nationally televised address to Congress in early September. Obama hoped that Congress would vote on healthcare legislation before its August recess, but that goal was missed, and some members of Congress faced angry constituents at town hall meetings to discuss healthcare reform. Meanwhile, unemployment continued to climb near 10%.

As mentioned in the previous post, there's not likely to be much relief in the unemployment area. And health care reform efforts aren't looking much better. Yesterday's defeat of the so-called "doc fix" is seen as a stunning rebuke to Senate leadership. Here's Heritage's take on it.

As we reported on Monday and Tuesday, yesterday’s “doc fix” vote was part of a White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel strategy to smooth passage of President Barack Obama’s $1 trillion-plus health care overhaul by transferring a quarter of its cost into a separate, and completely unpaid for, bill.

And ...

Instead of the massive overhaul being pursued by the White House, a solid majority of Americans tell Gallup they want to see Congress move in the opposite direction. By 58% to 38%, Americans would generally prefer to see Congress deal with health care reform “on a gradual basis over several years” rather than “try to pass a comprehensive health care reform plan this year.”

Makes more sense that attacking insurance companies. When all else fails, do the right thing.