Slow down, you move too fast

You’ve got to make the morning last

Just kickin’ down the cobble stones

Looking for fun and feelin’ groovy!

Abundant apologies to Simon and Garfunkel, but doesn’t the recent CBS national poll regarding Obama and his policies reflect a public that believe he’s breaking the speed limit with his policies and has little to show for it?

From that CBS poll:

  • A majority of Americans believe that Obama has been trying to accomplish too much in his first few months on office (52%), while 39% say his pace has been about right.
  • Americans are divided as to whether the US can afford to fix health care right now because of the nation’s economy.  (49% say fix it now, 46% say we can’t afford it.)
  • By a 33%-21% margin, Americans believe the national economy is getting worse.
  • But, perhaps the most telling number from this survey is the erosion in the mood of the country.  While CBS’ June data showed voters believed the country to be on the wrong track by a 50%-44% margin, that figure is now 57%-35%.

In other words, things are turning AGAINST Obama as Americans express concern about the pace of his “changes,” with no markers in the road denoting successes.

And, now, with the economic stimulus package becoming “unsold,” is health care reform “a bridge too far?” (But, then again, that’s a different Simon and Garfunkel song altogether!)

Public Opinion Strategies