Obama’s approval ratings have steadily declined despite a strongly rising stock market. This brings up a most worrisome query to keep in the back of our minds as we go forward: Where would the ratings be if the market was declining? Where will they be if the market begins to decline?

The most disturbing thing reflected in the polling is the sharp rise in the unfavorable ratings for the new president. According to pollster Scot Rasmussen, only 32% of Americans "strongly approve" of Obama's presidency where as 40% "strongly disapprove." The latter figure has increased by over 10 points in little over a month. It's the worst reading for a president so early in his first term. Perceptions of Obama as being an extreme liberal have also skyrocketed: 48% of Americans classify him as "Very Liberal" which is up 20 points since he was elected.

Perceptions of republicans being absolute failures are also at an all time high. So what's your point?

Public confidence in the ability of the government to engineer solutions to the economic crisis was a key to the rally in financial markets since March. Conversely, an erosion of public confidence in government should have the opposite effect.

President Obama’s approval ratings are eroding and will continue to erode as his domestic initiatives are likely to get bogged down in Congress. The timing of universal healthcare proposals and cap and trade initiatives couldn't be worse. The public has little appetite for grandiose spending and tax schemes in the current context of economic crisis. Obama’s stubborn dallying on these untimely issues, his lack of focus on providing real solutions for the economy, and his delegation of economic leadership to the economic ignoramuses in Congress that are, in any event, dominated by special interests, will cost him dearly in terms of public approval.

Tragically, Republicans provide absolutely no alternative whatsoever -- either in terms of ideas or leaders. Thus, at a time when bold policy-making is needed, the US is faced with a political stalemate characterized by irrelevance and incompetence. The decline of public confidence in the president will be a proxy for the public’s loss of confidence in the government’s ability to provide workable solutions for the nation’s crisis. This will negatively affect consumption and investment patterns.

I see the approval ratings trending toward that of other popular Presidents proportional to time in office. The success of the adminstration's 4-year plan will dictate whether ratings will decrease or level-off. There's too much on the table in need of resolution, so most rational minds do not give the approval rating much weight at this stage of the game. Economic recovery and restoration of global goodwill will be the first indicators on whether I eat this ham sandwich.

It is too early to tell, he hasn't even been in office for a year!

Jimmy Carter’s presidency ended up as a disaster, as the pretty dreams and visions he conjured blew up in his face and ended his presidency in ignominy after a single term.

Yet, according to the job approval ratings, as poorly as Jimmy Carter fared as president, at this same point in his presidency, President Obama is doing worse, with a 58% approval versus Jimmy Carter's 62%.
To be clear, approval ratings are no statistically valid predictor of Obama's presidential fortunes; at this point in their respective presidencies, the first Bush was rated at 66% but lost after one term… and Bush the Second was rated at 57% approval, and he went on to win a second term.

Jimmy Carter is so 1976.

I agree that Bush set us back 30 years, though.

Mostly I think the markets are rallying right now since there is a sense that nothing will get passed for a while in Congress. You know how Wall Street loves the status quo as far as the government goes. They are grabbing onto any positive signs as they can to try and turn the mood around for other investors holding cash out of stocks right now.

Obama's approval/dis ratings I believe are a reflection of him backing policies that are pushing for huge spending increases and tax increases that will easily affect those making under $250K. The more spending he wants and approves, and the more it is obvious the taxes will spread well beyond just "the rich" it is starting to make him look more and more like any other politician.

If his policies pan out in the long term, maybe things will change. But honestly, this reliance on polls every week to try and discern what is really going on is a crock. It is a media and political tool that folks are using more and more to justify their existence and it is really getting old.

But there are, I believe, some important observations that could be made. Starting with the Bushes. It is fair to argue that if 9/11 had not happened, then Bush Junior’s ratings might have continued to roll downhill, as it is equally fair to ponder what might have happened if George Sr. had not made the devastating misstep of publicly violating his most vocal campaign pledge "Read my lips, no new taxes."

Or, put another way, in the first instance, Bush Junior's presidency was saved by the sort of martial crisis that has proven so effective at driving the herd together in the past, while Bush Sr. lost by a glaringly public reversal of his number one election pledge.

Likewise, in the context of the Deus Ex Machina, President Obama's success from this point forward could be determined by an unforeseeable "event" or by an avoidable yet massive political misstep – for example, if he were to pass a VAT tax and the regressive nature of that tax were made to be widely known by the disloyal opposition – therefore publicly breaking his pledge not to raise taxes on the middle class.

Agree RV about the value of polls. Only the election markets seem to carry any credence these days. (Ha!)

On Second Thought, are you Gov't is the Problem? Please register and quit being so wishy-washy.