Obama Laughs Off Negative Poll Numbers to Barbara Walters: ‘Nowhere to Go But Up’

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama sat down with Barbara Walters for a wide-ranging interview that aired Friday night, and the first issue Walters brought up was the president’s record low approval numbers. But Obama just shrugged them aside as the hazards of the job, joking, “The good thing about when you’re down is that usually, you’ve got nowhere to go but up.”

Walters brought up Obama getting booed at a basketball game. The First Lady said, “It’s part of the job,” and said she’s gotten booed as well, though Walters did point out her numbers have always been a bit better than her husband’s.

Obama is at roughly the same popularity level that George W. Bush was at at this poing in his presidency, but the current officeholder dismissed the poll showing people no longer consider him trustworthy. When Walters brought up his comment from years ago about preferring to be a good one-term president than a mediocre two-term one, Obama joked that he’d love to be a good two-termer if he had his druthers.

Via: Mediaite.com

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Obama approval drops nine points among Hispanics

President Obama's approval rating among Hispanics has dropped below 50 percent -- losing nine points in a week, according to a newGallup poll released on Tuesday.

The president enjoyed a 58-percent rating during the week of Oct. 21, in which he signaled a new push on immigration reform and blamed House Republicans for failing to act on the comprehensive immigration bill passed by the Senate in June.

But Obama's approval rating fell to 49 percent in the following week.

Obama came under fire the past week due to a wave of private insurance cancellations and technical problems with the Obamacare website.

That marks the lowest approval rating for Obama among Hispanics in the Gallup weekly approval rating poll since the week of Dec. 26, 2011, to Jan. 1, 2012, when he earned a 46-percent favorable rating.

His approval rating soared to the high seventies in the spring of 2013 as the Senate worked to pass a comprehensive immigration bill.

Via: Washington Examiner

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NBC/WSJ poll: Obama approval sinks to new low

President Barack Obama’s approval rating has declined to an all-time low as public frustration with Washington and pessimism about the nation’s direction continue to grow, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Just 42 percent approve of the president’s job performance, which is down five points from earlier this month. By comparison, 51 percent disapprove of his job in office -- tied for his all-time high.

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

President Barack Obama speaks about health insurance at Faneuil Hall in Boston.

The NBC/WSJ pollsters argue that no single reason explains Obama’s lower poll standing. Rather, they attribute it to the accumulation of setbacks since the summer -- allegations of spying by the National Security Agency, the debate over Syria’s chemical weapons, the government shutdown and now intense scrutiny over the problems associated with the health care law’s federal website and its overall implementation.

Those events have combined to erase some of the advantage the president gained with polls showing most Americans blame congressional Republicans for the shutdown.Read the full poll here (.pdf)

Via: NBC News

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Health Care Law - 52% Expect Obamacare to Make Health Care System Worse

Voters remain overwhelmingly positive about the health care they receive but are less enthusiastic about the overall health care system. But just over half also continue to believe the health care system will get worse under the new national health care law.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 82% of Likely U.S. Voters rate the overall quality of the health care they now receive as good or excellent. Just four percent (4%) describe that health care as poor. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Only 37%, however, rate the U.S. health care system itself as good or excellent. Thirty percent (30%) view the system as poor.

These views have changed little in the past several months. But for the second month in a row, 30% of voters think the health care system is likely to get better as a result of Obamacare. That’s up eight points from August and the most positive view to date. But most voters (52%) still believe the system will get worse under the new law, while six percent (6%) expect it to stay about the same. Twelve percent (12%) are undecided.

Seventy-eight percent (78%) of voters with health insurance rate their current coverage as good or excellent, also consistent with past surveying. Only four percent (4%) regard their health insurance coverage as poor.

Voters with health insurance are twice as likely as those without it to rate the health care they receive as good or excellent. Those who are not insured are also much more critical of the overall health care system.

One-out-of-four voters (25%) say their health insurance coverage has changed as a result of the health care law. Two percent (2%) have signed up successfully for health insurance through the health exchange websites created by the new law, but given the problems those websites are having, 51% favor delaying the requirement that every American have health insurance by January 1.

Via: Rasmussen

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Public Approval of Health Care Law

Polling Data

Poll	Date	Sample	For/Favor	Against/Oppose	Spread
RCP Average	10/1 - 10/20	--	39.9	48.7	Against/Oppose +8.8
CNN/Opinion Research	10/18 - 10/20	841 A	41	56	Against/Oppose +15
ABC News/Wash Post	10/17 - 10/20	1002 A	46	49	Against/Oppose +3
Rasmussen Reports*	10/12 - 10/13	1000 LV	47	52	Against/Oppose +5
NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl	10/7 - 10/9	800 A	38	43	Against/Oppose +5
Associated Press/GfK	10/3 - 10/7	1227 A	28	38	Against/Oppose +10
FOX News*	10/1 - 10/2	952 RV	36	52	Against/Oppose +16
CBS News	10/1 - 10/2	1021 A	43	51	Against/Oppose +8

All Public Approval of Health Care Law Polling Data

RCP POLL AVERAGE Public Approval of Health Care Law

39.9 For/Favor 48.7 Against/Oppose +8.8

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Via: Real Clear Politics

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