RUSH: The Washington Post is deeply concerned. Jon Cohen and Dan Balz have a story today: “Obama Ratings Sink to New Lows as Hope Fades — Public pessimism about the direction of the country has jumped to its highest level in nearly three years, erasing the sense of hope that followed President Obama’s inauguration and pushing his approval ratings to a record low, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.” Oh, gee, how soon people forget that Obama Killed Osama. Really, that didn’t last long, did it? Whatever happened to that? Obama Killed Osama. That’s supposed to get them all the way through the election. Hell, here we are, we’re still 14 months away and people have already forgotten that Obama Killed Osama.

“More than 60 percent of those surveyed say they disapprove of the way the president is handling the economy and, what has become issue No. 1, the stagnant jobs situation.
Just 43 percent now approve of the job he is doing overall.” That’s a new career low in this poll. Remember, 38% in Gallup. “Fifty-three percent disapprove, a new high. … By this time in their presidencies, approval ratings for both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton … had settled safely above the 50 percent mark. Both then stayed in positive territory throughout their reelection campaigns. … Current trends are highly unfavorable for the president. By 2 to 1, more Americans now say the administration’s economic policies are making the economy worse rather than better,” by two to one.

You see how far ahead of my time I am? Well, I knew this was gonna happen. This is why I said I hope he failed. “The number who say those policies have helped has been chopped in half since the start of the year. The percentage of Americans disapproving of how Obama is doing when it comes to creating jobs spiked 10 percentage points higher since July.” So, “Obama Ratings Sink to New Lows as Hope Fades.” But why not Obama ratings sink to new lows as hope soars? Because, see, a vast majority of Americans now understand that Obama has failed. That’s what this whole Washington Post article is about. There’s a growing sense out there that Obama and the Democrats are gonna be drummed out of office in 2012, and that is restoring hope. That is not causing hope to fade. Hope is soaring that Obama might lose and this has inspired millions of people for the first time in years. And as the country grows hopeful that Obama will be defeated, the president and his allies become more and more desperate, more and more divisive.

“Things are also bad for Obama when Americans are asked a version of the famous ‘are you better off today’ question that Reagan used to bludgeon Jimmy Carter on his way to defeating Carter in 1980. By better than 2 to 1, more say they are not as well off financially as they were at the start of Obama’s term.” They are worse off. What they still don’t know is that that was intended.

Maureen Dowd in the New York Times in a column yesterday entitled, “One and Done?” Basically says enough with the big speeches, what about some action? “Obama’s re-election chances depend on painting the Republicans as disrespectful. So why would the White House act disrespectful by scheduling a speech to a joint session of Congress at the exact time when the Republicans already had a debate planned? And why is the White House so cocky about Obama as a TV draw against quick-draw Rick Perry? As James Carville acerbically noted, given a choice between watching an Obama speech and a GOP debate, ‘I’d watch the debate, and I’m not even a Republican.'”

So Obama’s reelection chances depend on painting the Republicans as disrespectful and yet he’s the one acting disrespectful. And Maureen Dowd yesterday in the New York Times says, “Obama is still suffering from the Speech Illusion, the idea that he can come down from the mountain, read from a Teleprompter, cast a magic spell with his words and climb back up the mountain, while we scurry around and do what he proclaimed. The days of spinning illusions in a Greek temple in a football stadium are done. The One is dancing on the edge of one term. The White House team is flailing — reacting, regrouping, retrenching. It’s repugnant. After pushing and shoving and caving to get on TV, the president’s advisers immediately began warning that the long-yearned-for jobs speech wasn’t going to be that awe-inspiring.”

She says that it’s not gonna be that big a deal anyway. Obama says, by the way, this isn’t the whole plan, I’m holding some in reserve. So why go on TV, why do a speech, why have a jobs plan? I’ll tell you why, ’cause it’s a campaign appearance, pure and simple. It’s a campaign speech. It’s not about a jobs plan. He did this a year ago, (imitating Obama) “I’m gonna have a jobs plan when I come back from vacation in Martha’s Vineyard.” Three years of jobs plans. The only jobs that have been created are union jobs at the state level.

Meanwhile, “California Employment At Record Low.” They’re gonna vote for Obama in droves nevertheless. “The percentage of working-age Californians with jobs has fallen to a record low, and employment may not return to pre-recession levels until the second half of the decade, according to a research group. Just 55.4 percent of working-age Californians, defined as those 16 or older, had a job in July.” Just 55-and-a-half percent.