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WASHINGTON – On the eve of his presidential inauguration, Barack Obama enjoys stronger public support than he did on Election Day. More Americans approve of him now than voted for him, and he wins the optimism test hands down.
Pollsters routinely ask people right before inaugurations if they’re optimistic or pessimistic about the next four years with the incoming president. Eight in 10 people say they‘re optimistic about the next four years with Obama, according to the New York Times/CBS News Poll released Sunday. To get 80 percent of Americans to agree on anything is phenomenal.
Four years ago, 58 percent of people said they were optimistic about the next four years with George W. Bush, and he’s leaving office with about 22 percent of people approving of his job performance.
Democratic presidents tend to ride in on waves of optimism. Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter both entered office with 70 percent optimism scores.
So, the inevitable question: Is this as good as it gets for the 44th president?
Likely, it is. The problem with the bright, effervescent inaugural euphoria that has happily infected so many around the country is that there’s a cure. It’s called Wednesday.
Enjoy today and Tuesday -- the enthusiastic crowds, the pomp of the swearing-in, stirring patriotic words and music, the parade, the balls. Come Wednesday, Obama is the incumbent president. No longer will it be Bush’s war, Bush’s failed economy or Bush’s bloated federal deficit. Obama is inheriting them all.
To be sure, Americans always give new presidents the benefit of the doubt. Obama will start his term way ahead of his predecessors in the affection of the public, and polls indicate that people are willing to give him time to clean up the messes. But, let’s face it, people are impatient. Already, the European pundits are starting to complain he won’t be able to fix everything.
For his part, Obama has started adding ballast to control the public opinion balloon. At the concert at Lincoln Memorial Sunday afternoon, he said, “In the course of our history, only a handful of generations have been asked to confront challenges as serious as the ones we face right now.”
He named war, an economy in crisis, people worried about paying bills and college tuition and their grave uncertainty about the future.
“I won’t pretend that meeting any one of these challenges will be easy. It will take more than a month or a year, and it will likely take many. Along the way there will be setbacks and false starts and days that test our resolve as a nation,” he said.
So there it is. But Obama also offered the hope he’s famous for, calling on the people to join together.
“Never forget that the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard,” he said.
And that made people cheer again.
***
What do you think? Comment below.
Pollsters routinely ask people right before inaugurations if they’re optimistic or pessimistic about the next four years with the incoming president. Eight in 10 people say they‘re optimistic about the next four years with Obama, according to the New York Times/CBS News Poll released Sunday. To get 80 percent of Americans to agree on anything is phenomenal.
Four years ago, 58 percent of people said they were optimistic about the next four years with George W. Bush, and he’s leaving office with about 22 percent of people approving of his job performance.
Democratic presidents tend to ride in on waves of optimism. Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter both entered office with 70 percent optimism scores.
So, the inevitable question: Is this as good as it gets for the 44th president?
Likely, it is. The problem with the bright, effervescent inaugural euphoria that has happily infected so many around the country is that there’s a cure. It’s called Wednesday.
Enjoy today and Tuesday -- the enthusiastic crowds, the pomp of the swearing-in, stirring patriotic words and music, the parade, the balls. Come Wednesday, Obama is the incumbent president. No longer will it be Bush’s war, Bush’s failed economy or Bush’s bloated federal deficit. Obama is inheriting them all.
To be sure, Americans always give new presidents the benefit of the doubt. Obama will start his term way ahead of his predecessors in the affection of the public, and polls indicate that people are willing to give him time to clean up the messes. But, let’s face it, people are impatient. Already, the European pundits are starting to complain he won’t be able to fix everything.
For his part, Obama has started adding ballast to control the public opinion balloon. At the concert at Lincoln Memorial Sunday afternoon, he said, “In the course of our history, only a handful of generations have been asked to confront challenges as serious as the ones we face right now.”
He named war, an economy in crisis, people worried about paying bills and college tuition and their grave uncertainty about the future.
“I won’t pretend that meeting any one of these challenges will be easy. It will take more than a month or a year, and it will likely take many. Along the way there will be setbacks and false starts and days that test our resolve as a nation,” he said.
So there it is. But Obama also offered the hope he’s famous for, calling on the people to join together.
“Never forget that the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard,” he said.
And that made people cheer again.
***
What do you think? Comment below.