OK... now for an interesting study in perspectives. First an editorial piece in the Washington Times is titled Barack's in the Basement. The editorial goes on to show that the only president with a lower poll approval rating at 100 days in office taken since the Gallop poll started in 1969 was... Bill Clinton... and that only by one point.

President Obama's overall approval rating now stands at 56%. In January it was 84%. That is a rather dramatic drop of 32% in the first 100 days. That is why the Times called it "in the basement."

Then go to the second reporting of the same numbers and the statement headline from UPI is that the nation gives the President a showing of "strong support" with the same 56% approval number? They also fail to compare the President with all the other Presidents, all the way back to Nixon. By the 100 day mark Clinton, the only one with a lower number, was struggling over the 86 civilians the Federal Government had killed in Waco, Texas.

It is an interesting comparison in perspectives.

Washington Times

EDITORIAL: BARACK'S IN THE BASEMENT

According to Gallup's April survey, Americans have a lower approval of Mr. Obama at this point than all but one president since Gallup began tracking this in 1969. The only new president less popular was Bill Clinton, who got off to a notoriously bad start after trying to force homosexuals on the military and a federal raid in Waco, Texas, that killed 86. Mr. Obama's current approval rating of 56 percent is only one tick higher than the 55-percent approval Mr. Clinton had during those crises.

upi report

POLL FINDS STRONG PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR OBAMA
Published: April 24, 2009

WASHINGTON, April 24 (UPI) -- More than half of the U.S. public believes President Barack Obama has done an excellent or good job during his limited time in office, poll results indicate.

USA Today said Friday a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found that 56 percent of the people surveyed gave Obama positive ratings.

Twenty-three percent said Obama has done "just OK" so far and 20 percent rated the president's service as either poor or terrible....

USA Today said Obama was rated good or excellent by 53 percent of respondents in terms of how he has handled national security, but only earned positive ratings from 48 percent on the topic of the troubled economy.

And, that last number just above... only 48% approval on handling the "troubled economy"... for a sitting president... that would be a very troubling number.

As Candidate Bill Clinton kept before him at all times on the campaign trail... a sign that read, "It's the economy stupid." American's do tend to vote their pocket books and reality is starting to set in on the now majority of Americans.

XtnYoda, shalomed