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Obama’s Decline

Rasmussen Reports charts the decline in President Obama’s approval index–the difference between those likely voters who strongly approve and who strongly disapprove of his performance–from his inauguration to the present, on a monthly basis. What is striking is how stable the electorate’s views of Obama have been. There isn’t a lot of volatility or noise; the approval index has declined in steps as basic facts about the Obama administration have become evident:

Michael Barone, responding to a liberal’s question, tries to explain where all the Obamamaniacs have gone. In a summer and early fall that were dominated by popular expressions of opposition to the Democrats’ legislative agenda, why couldn’t Obama mobilize the supporters who were so visible last year?

As the above chart suggests, some of them may find their enthusiasm waning. Michael adds:

Where have all those Obamenthusiasts who were so visible in 2008 been hiding this year? …

Many Obamenthusiasts were thrilled by the idea of putting Obama in and getting George W. Bush out. They achieved their goal a year ago. What more is left? Did these people really expend all this energy to reduce the percentage of people without health insurance? “We are the change we are seeking,” Obama said during the campaign. Well, the Obamenthusiasts got that change. Now they can go back to gardening or Sudoku.

I suspect that most gardeners are Republicans, but otherwise I think Michael is right. That’s one of the problems with the politics of self-validation: when the election and ensuing self-congratulation are over, there isn’t necessarily a lot of energy left for the nuts and bolts of public policy.

also:

Scozzafava Endorses Owens

Vindicating all who criticized her as an unsuitable Republican nominee, Dede Scozzafava, having suspended her fading campaign yesterday, endorsed Democrat Bill Owens today.

UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds quotes Ms. Scozzafava, and comments:

Scozzafava on Friday: “I have been a Republican my entire life, I will be a Republican until I die. I believe in the Republican party that stands for less government interference in the lives of individuals. I believe in self-sufficiency versus government dependence. I believe in lower taxes, less government regulation, I believe in less government spending.”

Like I say, you can’t sue politicians for breach of warranty the way you can sue businesses. If you could, politicians would have to be more trustworthy.

PAUL adds: This is a Republican district and John McHugh, who has been representing it, is fairly conservative. His lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union is 71. Still, he is moderate enough that Obama nominated him for a spot in his administration (as Secretary of the Army). So this is still New York we’re talking about, not South Carolina.

If the candidate of the Conservative Party is able to win a two-way race in this district against a Democrat endorsed by the Republican nominee, it will be a pretty significant result. If, on the other hand, the Democrat captures this solidly Republican seat, we will hear plenty of “I told you so” for Republican pragmatists.

My view is that Republicans should, in general, be pragmatic when it comes to districts in blue states like this one. However, Scozzafava was a bridge too far, as she has confirmed by endorsing the Democrat.