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Showing posts with label washington post-ABC News Poll. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Three Quarters Of Americans Believe Obama Is Somewhat Responsible For The VA Mess.

Poll: Most Americans Outraged by VA Scandal; Many Blame Obama

Tuesday, 03 Jun 2014 11:59 AM

By Drew MacKenzie

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An overwhelming number of Americans are outraged by the Veterans Affairs scandal, with many of them believing that President Barack Obama is clearly or partially to blame for the crisis, a new poll reveals.

The Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 97 percent of Americans described the falsified wait times and the long treatment delays for veterans as a serious problem, while 82 percent called it "very serious."

Asked whether they thought that Obama was "personally responsible" for the VA scandal, 19 percent said he deserved a "great deal" of the blame, while another 19 percent said he was a "good deal" to blame.

A further 41 percent said he was "just some" to blame, adding up to 79 percent of respondents who thought that the president is in some way responsible for the embattled department’s problems.

The poll also found that 65 percent of Americans believe that VA Secretary Eric Shinseki was "right to resign" in the wake of the ongoing investigation. Twenty-two percent felt he should have kept his job.

The survey also explored the attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.

Democratic leaders have claimed that the special select committee empaneled by the GOP-controlled House to investigate the tragedy was purely a political ploy to damage Obama in the midterm elections and to hurt potential Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton in 2016.

But the public does not appear to agree with the Democrats, according to the survey, which showed that 51 percent of Americans "support an additional congressional investigation," as opposed to 42 percent who think there’s been enough oversight into the attacks that killed four Americans.

There was more bad news for Obama in the Washington Post-ABC News poll, with a majority of Americans, 56 percent, saying that they disapproved of the way Obama is "handling implementation of the new healthcare law," compared to only 39 percent who approved.

And the results were just as bad for Clinton, who was the secretary of state at the time of the Benghazi attacks. Fifty percent of Americans disapprove of her handling of the siege and its aftermath, while only 37 percent approved.

The survey also shows that 51 percent of Americans are unhappy with the job Obama is doing as president, while 46 percent gave him the thumbs-up, an increase from an April poll when only 41 percent approved of his performance.

However, there is some good news for Obama in the poll. More than three out of four Americans support his troop withdrawal plans for Afghanistan, as opposed to 19 percent who were against it. The drawdown will see just 9,800 soldiers in the strife-torn nation at year’s end, less than 5,00 next year, and none in 2016.

The poll of 1,002 adults was conducted May 29 to June 1, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

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Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Obama's Approval Continues To Tumble!

ABC Poll: Obama Popularity Plummets to Lowest Level

Tuesday, 17 Dec 2013 08:19 AM

By Melanie Batley

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President Barack Obama's job approval rating has sunk to the lowest levels of his presidency in a dramatic reversal of the commanding lead he held over Republicans in the wake of his re-election victory of just a year ago, a new poll has found.

According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted Dec. 12-15 , approval rates of both parties in Congress continue to be worse than the president's, but Obama's approval numbers have plummeted the most as the public pins more blame on him for the country's policy setbacks, including the botched rollout of Obamacare.

Forty-three percent of the 1,005 adults surveyed approve of the job Obama is doing, while 55 percent disapprove. At this time last year, the numbers were virtually reversed with 54 percent giving the president a positive job approval rating compared to 42 percent who disapproved.

Obama's slump "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 in reporting the poll.

"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 percent 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 could suffer in the 2014 midterm 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 percent. 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 percent saying it's congressional Republicans compared to 41 percent 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 percent to just 6 percent.

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 percent. Disapproval of Congressional Republicans is only marginally worse than a year ago with more than seven in 10 people saying they disapprove. Congressional Democrats get similar ratings with six in 10 saying they disapprove.

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 percent, compared to 45 percent who say they would back the GOP.

By way of comparison, Democrats also had a two point lead just before the 2010 midterm elections which saw an influx of Republicans elected to the House.

The president has, however, managed to reverse his negative ratings on key personal attributes, in particular, whether he understands the problems of everyday Americans and whether he is honest and trustworthy.

At the height of problems with the rollout of the Obamacare website, small majorities gave the president negative ratings on those subjects. In the current poll, Obama draws slim positive ratings.

And even five years into Obama's presidency more Americans — 50 percent compared to 38 percent — blame his predecessor George W. Bush for the country's economic woes than point the finger at him.

Nonetheless, disapproval of Obama's handling of the implementation of his signature healthcare law stands at 62 percent while disapproval of his handling of the economy is at 55 percent. Both figures are largely unchanged from a poll last month, though overall opposition to Obamacare has decreased from record levels of opposition.

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.

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