Polls: Obama’s Approval Dropping, Opposition Up to Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 23, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — New polls show President Barack Obama’s approval ratings continue dropping to historic low levels. This comes as the latest poll shows Americans still strongly opposed to the pro-abortion health care bill Obama and his allies want to railroad through Congress.
Obama’s approval ratings have hit an all-time low according to a new survey produced by Rasmussen Reports.
The latest automated tracking poll yesterday showed the number of people who “strongly approve” of Obama’s performance reached a new low of 22 percent down from a high of 45 percent when he took over the White House last year.
At the same time 41 percent “strongly disapprove” of his performance — showing the most passionate voters disapprove of Obama by a 19 percent margin.
“Overall the president’s numbers have been between the mid and upper 40s since around Thanksgiving — they tend to get a little lower when health care becomes the primary focus, as it is now,” said Scott Rasmussen, the pollster.
“The health-care debate has overall captured a lot of people’s frustration… I think people are concerned that the president would like the government to assume an even greater role in the economy than now, and it’s firing up voters," he added.
Overall, 45% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President’s performance. Fifty-four percent (54%) disapprove.
Looking at health are specifically, Rasmussen shows opposition to the pro-abortion, government-run health care bill in Congress is tied for its second-highest level in the history of its polling dating back to June.
Its national telephone survey finds 41% of voters favor the proposed health care plan, while 56% oppose it. Those figures include 45% who strongly oppose the plan and just 23% who strongly favor it.
Democrats continue to strongly support the health care plan much while it is opposed by Republicans and voters not affiliated with either major party.
Earlier this month, just after the president called for a bipartisan summit meeting to get his health care reform plan back on track, 61% of voters said Congress should scrap that plan and start all over again, Rasmussen found.
The latest findings, from a survey Sunday and Monday nights, come as the president prepares to convene the nationally televised summit meeting on Thursday that Republicans and pro-life advocates say is a glorified publicity stunt.
Rasmussen also found voters don’t think Obama and his allies will be able to ramrod the health care bill through Congress.
Just 38% of voters now think it is at least somewhat likely that the plan proposed by the president and congressional Democrats will become law this year, the lowest level of confidence in the bill’s passage to date. That number includes 13% who say passage into law is very likely.
But 51% believe passage of the plan this year is unlikely, with 33% who say it’s not very likely and another 18% who view it as not at all likely.
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