Obama's Approval Rating on Economy Drops: Why Is That?

A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Survey sent bad news to the Obama Administration this week. The poll found that only 42 percent of the American public approves of how the president is handling the economy, while 57 percent disapprove. The disapproval rating has increased by two percent since March of this year.

The poll isn't completely downhill for the president and his advisors, since the results show a serious partisan divide. Nearly 8 out of every 10 Democrats approve of the president's handling of the economy, while 9 out of every 10 Republicans disapprove. The president did find that two-thirds of independent voters also disapprove of his performance, which might be a concern.

"The public hasn't given Obama good marks on the economy since last September, and his approval rating on the economy, now at 42 percent, has been stuck in the mid-to-low 40s throughout this year," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said on the CNN.com website. "Part of the reason for that is that Americans haven't seen much to cheer about on the economic front. Nearly eight in ten say that economic conditions are somewhat poor or very poor."

One ray of hope for the Obama Administration is that the American public has sided with the president vs. the Republicans on the issue of deficit reduction. The Republicans believe that reducing the deficit is more important than extending unemployment benefits to millions of Americans who need them. Obama has argued that increasing the deficit temporarily to help the unemployed is a worthy investment for our country.

While some might see these poll results to be grim news for President Obama, I see a few points of optimism. First, the strong split among partisan lines reflects the insistence upon Republicans to avoid supporting Obama's agenda at any price. If there is a way for Obama to approach the economic issues in such a way as to increase Democratic support and gain a few independents, he might be able to make his numbers a bit stronger. At the very least, this is the only strategy that could work for the president, since the Republicans aren't coming on board anytime soon.

Secondly, the president has convinced the nation that the issue of joblessness is far more pressing than the budget deficit. Republicans, who cater to a wealthier constituency, have little incentive to help those who are unemployed, and are reminding America of this disposition every time they stop extensions of unemployment benefits. Additionally, the president will likely see his numbers improve as the economy improves.

One major hurdle (among many) for President Obama is that much of the disapproval of his handling of the economy has to do with the unemployment rate. I honestly don't see how he can create jobs in a country that has been rigged to destroy them. The U.S. economy hasn't created one net new job since 1999, and the real wages of American workers has remained consistently flat for the past 15 years. Therefore, Obama's desire to create jobs is going to require a fundamental shift in how America does business, and that isn't going to occur with the economic advisors he has in place. In other words, Obama is required to engage in radical politics with a set of advisors who are only interested in maintaining the status quo.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.