By now the news has spread that President Obama’s credibility in the eyes of most Americans has been taking huge blows.
In a recent CNN poll, the President’s approval rating dropped to just 45% in early June, a full eight points lower than the previous month. Unsurprisingly, the numerous government-related scandals have taken their toll on the generally comfortable approval ratings Obama has enjoyed for the majority of his time in office.
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Benghazi, the IRS targeting conservatives, and the Department of Justice scandal involving the press are the scandals receiving the bulk of media attention at the moment. What we shouldn’t ignore is the flood of serious allegations currently enveloping the Environmental Protection Agency or the accusations of systematic corruption and investigation-tampering at the State Department.
Consider this excerpt from Ron Fournier in the National Journal: “A CNN/ORC poll of 1,104 adult Americans June 11-13 shows the president’s job approval rating at 45 percent, down 8 percentage points in a month. Among young voters, only 48 percent approve of the president’s performance, a 17-point decline since the last CNN/ORC poll. These are the president’s most loyal supporters, and the future of American politics. The drop in presidential approval is across the board, affecting Obama’s standing on every issue measured: The economy (down 2 points); foreign affairs (down 5 points); federal budget (down 4 points); terrorism (down 13 points); and immigration (down 4 points).”
It’s altogether appropriate for Americans to lose their confidence in leadership when it’s ever more obvious that leadership is failing. I’m thankful more and more people are finally starting to see the reality about President Obama and his administration: hope and change were the empty promises we told you they were all along.
It’s encouraging to know that faith in Big Government can be shaken. After the November elections, I wasn’t so sure. It’s refreshing to know that young people especially are becoming disenfranchised with a politician they thought could do no wrong. Better yet, they seem to be connecting the competency and ethical shortcomings of a government too big for its britches with the politicians responsible for those shortcomings.
Indeed, according to a supplemental CNN report, not only are most people growing disgusted with this administration, but an increasing number – 47% of those polled (a 10 point jump from last month) – even believe the IRS targeted conservatives based on orders from the White House itself. True or not, this represents a massive shift in public attitude. A Fox News poll last week revealed that 63% of Americans trust this government “not at all” or “very little.”
It’s incredibly unfortunate that this same level of skepticism of President Obama and his Big Government ideology weren’t realized by the majority of the voting public before this point. The sad reality is that the President benefitted greatly from the protection the mainstream media provided him, and given the chance, they’d do it again.
Our goal now should be to expose in serious ways the connections between the corruption and ineptitude these scandals reveal, and the fact that they are an inseparable price to pay for a massive and still growing government. Our job is to take this momentum of reasonable mistrust and use it to make the grand case against liberalism, not just Barack Obama. Remember, he won’t be running for office again, but Big Government liberalism will be, and soon.
We must show our fellow Americans the irreconcilable tie between Big Government and corruption, fraud, and wasted tax dollars; and when we do, limited government conservatism can rule the day once again.
