Rasmussen's approval index -- which has also been called the "passion index," because it measures relative intensity of political sentiment -- has Obama at -24% today, with 21% registering strong approval of the President, and 45% registering strong disapproval. This is the 17th straight day with an approval index for Obama lower than -20%. Before August 2011, the longest stretch with a negative 20 rating was four straight days, with both related to the President's response to natural disasters: in mid-March 2011 (right after the tsunami and reactcor meltdown in China) and mid-June 2010 (right after an Oval Office speech about the BP Gulf oil spill). What's happening now is different. Yes, it's related to the S&P downgrade and the debt, but this isn't a reaction to a natural disaster (which might tend to dissipate over time as the world doesn't end). Rather, it's a reaction to the President's actual performance at his basic task and, I think, to his strange choice to take off for a 10-day luxury vacation in which he is too often seen playing golf.
This is not a "do something, Emperor!" moment, in other words; it's a "the Emperor has no clothes" moment. When you're getting headlines from the New York F'in Times like "Obama Interrupts Golf Game for Earthquake Briefing," you're in trouble.
Preference cascade! Catch it!
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By the way, it might be worth noting that, in golf, as in everything else, Obama's a lefty.
