RUSH: The New York Times has run a story on President Obama’s poll numbers. Now, the headline has changed from when the story was first posted on the Internet last night. The headline last night to the same story I’m about to share with you was this: ‘In Poll, Obama Seen as Ineffective on the Economy.’ That was very late last night. By the time people got up today and read the website, the headline has been changed to this: ‘Obama Poll Sees Doubt on Budget and Health Care.’ When I saw this first headline, I said, ‘It must kill the New York Times to have to report this. They’re State-Run Media,’ and it did kill them. My first thought was right. They went around and they change it. Rahm Emanuel must have made that 3 a.m. phone call to the New York Times, and Bill Keller out there, the editorial editor.
First headline late last night: ‘In Poll, Obama Seen as Ineffective on the Economy.’ First thing this morning, the headline: ‘Obama Poll Sees Doubt on Budget and Health Care.’ Now, that headline makes it look like people doubt the budget and doubt health care, but they don’t doubt Obama. Here are the details of the story: ‘A substantial majority of Americans say President Obama has not developed a strategy to deal with the budget deficit, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, which also found that support for his plans to overhaul health care, rescue the auto industry and close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, falls well below his job approval ratings. A distinct gulf exists…’ Emanuel couldn’t get the substance of the story changed. He did get the headline changed.
‘A distinct gulf exists between Mr. Obama’s overall standing and how some of his key initiatives are viewed, with fewer than half of Americans saying they approve of how he has handled health care and…’ Fewer than half? This is not news, really. This just the first time the New York Times has reported it. We have been telling you for weeks that if you look at polling data issue by issue by issue, a majority of people disapprove of Obama’s plans but that his overall approval ratings is up there in the sixties. It’s now in the fifties at both CBS/New York Times and NBC/Wall Street Journal. ‘[F]ewer than half of Americans saying they approve of how he has handled health care and the effort to save General Motors and Chrysler. A majority of people said his policies have had either no effect yet on improving the economy or had made it worse, underscoring how his political strength still rests on faith in his leadership rather than concrete results.’
This is in the state-run New York Times. I’m going to tell you something, folks. This White House, more than any other (it’s a very close race between this White House and the Clinton White House) runs on polls, and that approval number is everything to them. That approval number, when it stays over 60%, is license to steal another industry or another sector of the private sector economy. When that approval number goes south, when it starts falling, that means the power of the Bamster’s personality is not covering or overshadowing his failures, and they’re going to panic. I told you. I knew it late last week, first part of this week. This is a White House in panic. They’re taking on too much, too soon. They’re not doing it well, and when you add to it now the perception of some of these people that he’s helping out the private sector and letting the little guy starve and stay outta work… Weeeeell, no wonder the numbers are coming down.
‘But with a job approval rating of 63 percent, Mr. Obama has the backing of Democrats and independents alike, a standing that many presidents would envy and try to use to build support for their policies. His rating has fallen to 23 percent among Republicans, from 44 percent in February, a sign that bridging the partisan divide may remain an unaccomplished goal.’ Bridging the partisan divide? There was never any attempt to bridge the partisan divide! These poll numbers, those of you out there in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community: these poll numbers are why Obama’s not giving you people what you want. These poll numbers are why he can’t yet go ahead and rip up the Defense of Marriage Act. And, by the way, they’re still mad about this. We have the story. Barney Frank’s weighed in on this now. Oh, yeah. Absolutely has.
‘While Republicans have steadily increased their criticism of Mr. Obama, particularly on the budget deficit, the poll found that the Republican Party is viewed favorably by only 28 percent of those polled…’ That’s ‘the lowest rating ever’ in the New York Times poll’s history. But: ‘In contrast, 57 percent said that they had a favorable view of the Democratic Party.’ That doesn’t matter. It’s all crumbling here. The Republican Party has been out of power for six months — well, two years and six months in Congress. So this is to be expected. The numbers here that are that are bad are the issue-by-issue numbers on Obama. Now, here is the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, and the Politico runs this story with this headline: ‘Honeymoon Coming to an End,’ and that, by the way, is ‘F.’ Chuck Todd. ‘F.’ Chuck Todd said that the honeymoon is over for Obama.
‘An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll out Wednesday night showed the highest level of optimism about the economy in four years but new skepticism about the policies of President Barack Obama. Chuck Todd, NBC News chief White House correspondent and political director, told Brian Williams at the top of NBC Nightly News: ‘The honeymoon is coming to an end for President Obama, but it’s not personal. It’s professional, as now the public appears to be judging the president on some of his actions. And right now there’s a growing concern about the budget deficit, and some of this government interaction into the economy on things like GM.’ … A solid majority — 56 percent — approve of the job that the president’s doing.’
That’s down from 63. He’s still 62 in the CBS poll, but 56% is a ‘solid majority;’ a ‘solid majority of 56%, down six points. ‘Obama lost the most ground among self-described political independents. – 69 percent are concerned about the increased government intervention into the economy. – 53 percent of respondents disapprove of the government’s decision to bail out Chrysler and GM. – 58 percent say the government should focus more on controlling the budget deficit than on boosting the economy.’ Can you…? Folks, do you realize…? If we are to accept this, do you realize the impact of this? This is revealing. The poll shows that more Americans are worried about the deficit and this runaway spending than they are the economy, big time.
They’re more worried about deficits than the economy by 23 points in this poll. Now, to translate this: Even though the liberals tell us that this is ‘the worst economy since the Great Depression,’ Americans have enough sense to know the problem is the deficit. ‘It’s the deficit, stupid,’ in a landslide. In fact, a higher percentage are worried about the deficit, 58%; than voted for Obama, 53%. That’s how I, El Rushbo, choose to look at this. Even with that the question is misworded. The issue is not keeping the deficit down, because the president and the Democrats are hell-bent on keeping the deficit rising. Now, the second revealing response here is the question, ‘Who’s most responsible for the budget deficit?’ and the responses are not pretty. Here they are: 6% Obama, 28% Congress, 13% all, 7% not sure, 46% George Bush. This is the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. We’re not talking facts here. We’re talking public perception: public education, public understanding of how government works. To the factual answer to the question, ‘Who is most responsible for the budget deficit?’ the answer is Congress, 100%. Because not a dime of spending happens without first originating in legislation in the House of Representatives.
But less than one-third of the respondents understand this, and that’s probably you people in my audience who understand it. Those who blame a president, Bush over Obama, are 46 to 6. What does that number reveal? Lots. It shows that… Listen to me on this. Forty-six percent of the American people — who hate the deficit more than the economy; they think it’s a bigger problem than the economy — are blaming Bush for it. That’s not good. It shows that Obama is a far more dangerous president than Bush or Clinton or even Jimmy Carter, because there’s no media check on what he says or what he does. The media is now state-run, government-controlled. There is no congressional check on what he says or what he does.
There’s barely any analysis of what he says or what he does. This year, the deficit will be four times as large as last year. Obama has quadrupled Bush’s deficit and Bush is still being blamed. While it’s charged to Bush, it’s being created by Obama — by Obama’s Porkulus, by Obama Bailoutulus, by Obama GMulus, by Obama ‘Where’s The Stimulus’ Republicans. Let me simplify this. Obama took Bush’s credit card and ran up massive debt on it. Obama stole it. Let’s look at it that way. Obama stole Bush’s credit card and has run up debt like crazy. They’ve shut down the credit card, and yet Bush is getting blamed. So there it is for all to see. Americans are worried about the deficits. Eventually they’re going to be terrified by them when they see the impact.
The challenge here is to educate voters as to who creates deficits, who passes the buck, and who gets the blame for them. Can the Republicans do this by 2010, by 2012? Can they do it ever? I contend, ladies and gentlemen — and I think you would all agree with me on this, to use a famous Obama tactic, technique — well, that’s how they all do it. ‘I think you’ll agree with me when I say…’ Who has been the loudest, most consistent voice in criticizing Obama policies? It would have to be me and all of the conservative media thrown together. It’s working. It is working in terms of causing people’s attitudes and opinions on his policies to be majority negative. The Republican Party isn’t doing any of this. In fact, several Republicans are still out there trying to gain their chops with the media and the DC social crowd by blaming Bush for this, praising Obama for reining in what could have been a bad problem.
So the problem is concerned about all the spending and the expansion of government. You know, we… Hey, Cookie! I don’t know if we have the audio or if it’s just text, from the archives, but the public now — in a New York Times poll, New York Times/CBS Poll. That’s Bible, right? That’s gospel for inside-the-Beltway people. What we need is audio or even the quote from General Powell where he says people want more government and want higher taxes, because this poll is a repudiation of General Powell as well. (interruption) Well, Dawn, you’re cringing in there, but it is. You know, some of the brainiacs on our side of the aisle say, ‘We can’t have a Republican Party without Colin Powell.’ Well, juxtapose what he says people wanted versus what they’re saying in a poll taken by the DC Bible, and you’ll find they ain’t the same thing.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, if you’re one of the majority Americans upset with deficit spending but you think it’s George W. Bush’s fault, don’t forget it’s Congress that spends the money at the end of the day and Barack Obama has voted for every big budget-busting spending bill since 2004 in the United States Senate. So he’s part of the mix here. Now, we have no audio on the Colin Powell statement. It was from May 5th of this year. No audio, but it is in the Wall Street Journal, and this is from the story in the Journal: ”The Republican Party is in deep trouble,’ Powell told corporate security executives at a conference in Washington sponsored by Fortify Software Inc. The party must realize that the country has changed, he said. ‘Americans do want to pay taxes for services,’ he said. ‘Americans are looking for more government in their life, not less.” I’d say the poll in the New York Times has just repudiated General Powell, who many on our side think is the ideal definition of the modern-day Republican and should be leading the party.