When POS’ Obama: 100 Days In survey asked Americans how they felt about President Obama’s economic polices, most American found themselves hopeful but firmly in the middle.
Only a handful (13{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222}) count themselves among supporters who are confident that the new president’s economic policies will work. SHOCK: The new president can only count on one-in-four (25{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222}) of his own Democratic partisans to share this view. On the other side, 21{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} oppose Obama’s economic policies from the get-go . While the president can count on only 25{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} of his own partisans for bedrock support, nearly twice as many Republicans (45{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222}) already count themselves among the opposition.
The fact that Republicans are already galvanized against the president is well reported. The real future lies in how Obama’s economic policies play among the Independents who make up just shy of a third of the electorate (32{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222}).
As Dan Akroyd said in the ‘80s libertarian cult film, Ghost Busters, “I myself have worked in the private sector. They expect results.”
So will Independents when it comes to Obama.
Like all Americans, Indies are feeling the pocketbook pinch. And, at Obama’s 100 day mark, the bulk either are supportively hopeful of Obamanomics (45{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222}) or doubtfully supportive (25{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222}).
Together, they account for 22{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} of the nation’s voters and 70{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} of the voters who will decide the fate of Obama and his party. If they don’t feel juiced by the Obama Economy, it will be Independents who swell the ranks of Republicans in 2010’s mid terms.
Postscript: With three-of-four Republicans either doubtful or opposing Obamanomics outright, there is little incentive for their leaders to do anything other than point out its deficiencies and say how they would do better.