The NYTimes/CBS News poll has some bad news for the "yes we can" screamers.
It appears that voters like BO but not his policies:
"A substantial majority of Americans say President Obama has not developed a strategy to deal with the budget deficit, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, which also found that support for his plans to overhaul health care, rescue the auto industry and close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, falls well below his job approval ratings." (poll)
The WSJ poll is about the same: Public Wary of Deficit, Economic Intervention
So what's going on?
First, the honeymoon is over. It happens to every president.
Second, and most worrisome, Pres BO has projected huge deficits and unleashed a massive expansion of government.
Pres BO has bet his entire presidency, i.e. one or two terms, on a massive economic recovery that brings down the deficits. (Time will tell. We have never had deficits in excess of 10% of GDP!)
My guess is that Pres BO will lose his bet.
First, the deficits will crowd out the money markets. They will force Pres BO to make some very unpopular choices later this year.
Where are we going to find US$ 2 trillion to cover the federal deficit? What happens when the Fed Chairman tells Pres BO that he can't find US$2 trillion worth of buyers of US Treasuries or bonds?
Again, we have never attempted to finance a deficit of 10% of GDP! See Dick Morris and INFLATION LOOMS: O’S DEFICIT DILEMMA!
Second, the expansion of government will create bureaucratic confusion and waste.
We should remember that The New Deal was dramatically defeated in 1938 when Pres FDR lost 71 seats!
Pres LBJ's Great Society created a huge backlash against the Democrats, i.e. they lost 7 of the next 10 presidential elections!
Third, the Dems are rushing much of their legislation. No one is reading these bills or considering the unintended consequences of expanding government like this.
My guess is that something similar is awaiting Pres BO in the future!
Get ready for lower approval ratings.
Get ready for a very frustrated president who will discover that he can't fix problems with a big speech anymore.
The fairy tale will turn into a nightmare! I agree with Jennifer Rubin: "At some point the public may discover that Obama is the one who took over GM, has racked up the biggest deficit in history, wants government to do more and more, and is trying to close Guantanamo. Then the president might have a serious problem. Despite the fondest hopes of the Left it seems there isn’t a groundswell of support for the things he is doing."
