A year after big Denver stadium speech, ‘Yes We Can’ fervor has faded for still-popular Obama
by Michael C. Bender | August 28th, 2009
Barack Obama delivering his nomination acceptance speech at Invesco Field in Denver on Aug. 28, 2008. Photo courtesy of Obama for America.
More from Obama’s campaign trail
A year ago Friday, candidate Barack Obama proved he could fill a football stadium with 80,000 cheering supporters.
But as president, Obama has seen his rock star status begin to fade.
In some polls, he’s even slightly less popular now than George W. Bush was at this point in his first term. At town hall meetings on health care, the bulk of the passion seems to come from activists opposed to Obama’s agenda.
It’s a far cry from what many supporters might have expected on Aug. 28, 2008 — the mile-high summit of Obama’s history-making road to the White House.
That night, the young Illinois senator stood on a raised blue platform in front of an elaborately columned backdrop in Denver’s Invesco Field, spoke to the country and accepted his party’s nomination for president.
The iconic images from that speech reflected a campaign that inspired volunteers across the nation. As a candidate, Obama drew on the deep reach of his grass-roots organization, his skill raising money on the Web, and the desire of tens of millions of voters to turn the page on Bush.
Since then, strategists attribute Obama’s declining poll numbers to his decision to quickly confront a series of controversial issues without the benefit of the scapegoat Bush represented in the campaign.
“The Parthenon they built behind Obama has crumbled,” Florida Republican strategist Rick Wilson said.
Meanwhile, the energy that fueled his volunteers has dwindled as more families are forced to focus on keeping their jobs and homes. And supporters say rallying enthusiasm for a president’s agenda is harder than building support for a candidate.
“A year ago we were talking about a person and now we’re talking about issues,” said Jayne Chapman, a Democratic activist in south Palm Beach County. “Not everyone agrees on how each issue should play out. It’s a constant battle to get everyone on the same page.”
Last year, Chapman grew an Obama grass-roots campaign team to more than 300 e-mail addresses. Since then, her “Boca-Delray-Deerfield 4 OBAMA” team has made the transition to Obama’s new group, Organizing for America, which focuses on supporting the president’s proposals.
But nowadays, more people are asking to be removed from her e-mail list. The number of people she can count on to show up for events has dropped.
Chapman said her own enthusiasm for Obama has grown. But even she declined training to become a community organizer for Obama’s group when told it was a 20-hour-per-week commitment.
“It’s very hard,” said Siobhan O’Donnell, a West Palm Beach real estate agent who volunteered for Obama last year.
This year, with the housing market still waiting to rebound, O’Donnell said she’s had to concentrate more on her next paycheck than attending town-hall meetings.
“Many people are struggling in this economy and people don’t have as much time as they used to have,” she said.
In Florida, the health care debate has been particularly damaging.
In the past two months — since health care became the top issue for the White House — Obama’s job-approval rating in Florida has dropped from 58 percent to 47 percent, according to Quinnipiac University polls.
Both Republican and Democratic pollsters say the health care debate has crystallized two years of unrest among voters.
“Real people feel like they’re falling farther and farther behind,” Democratic pollster David Beattie said. “People voted for Obama in large part because they didn’t trust Republicans to continue the direction they were going. And there is still a real fear about where the country is headed.”
It’s not unusual for a president’s approval ratings to drop during his first year in office, but this year in Florida, the economic fears are particularly agonizing.
The state continues to have one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation, and it tops the country in the rate of residents signing up for food stamps. According to Forbes.com, four of the five worst cities in the country for credit card debt are in Florida: Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville.
The state’s senior citizens, 17 percent of the population, have learned that, because of all-but-nonexistent inflation, their Social Security checks will not rise this year for the first time in a generation. Meanwhile, Medicare will account for a bigger portion of their costs.
But while the statistics help explain Obama’s declining job approval, most Floridians still like him personally: The Quinnipiac poll shows 51 percent of voters in the state think favorably of him.
Republican pollster John McLaughlin said former President Ronald Reagan faced a similar phenomenon: high unemployment marred Reagan’s approval rating during his first two years in office, but voters still said they thought favorably of him.
Republicans suffered stinging defeats in the first mid-term election after Reagan won the White House. But when the economy rebounded, so did Reagan. By 1984, he cruised to reelection while declaring “Morning in America.”
“If Obama’s policies start to work, the negatives you see in the polls will turn around,” McLaughlin said. “But right now it doesn’t look good.”
Tags: 2008, Denver, Invesco Field, Organizing for America, Quinnipiac University
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August 28th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Obama knew this would be unpopular, so he intentionally went for health care early. By the time ’12 rolls around, the economy will be solid and the health care debate will be in the past.
Smart man, that Barack Obama.
August 28th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Real unemployment of 16%. Insane deficits. All his lies about not raising your taxes out the door.
You were sold a bunch of crap by a highly functioning retard who can read a telemprompter well.
HOW ON EARTH ARE WE GOING TO PAY FOR ALL THIS? Do any liberals know even basic math?
August 28th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
The messiah thinks he can just stroll into office and fix all of the nation’s problems in the first year of his first term. First, he wants to tackle the health issue and from what I’ve been hearing he wants to fix the immigration problem. He needs to get this all out of his head and analyze the facts. It’s just unreasonable on his part and all of his advisers.
August 29th, 2009 at 12:23 am
DENVER… not Dever. Just an FYI
August 29th, 2009 at 1:05 am
The American people, most of them anyway, are not ready to follow a nazi…thank God. Obama has served to expose the fascistic tendencies of the left and it will be a long time before we forget.
August 29th, 2009 at 1:53 am
What? all you supporters don’t like unemployment, higher taxes, nothing happening to look forward to? Ahh don’t worry you have HOPE! No positive outlook for jobs in the future, don’t worry be happy. The gubbermint will take care of you.
You got what you wanted.
August 29th, 2009 at 4:30 am
The only people this should surprise are the many morons who were gullibly taken in by the b.s. “rockstar” facade of this empty suit of a president–this fake-o chicago politician.
There are many of us, though, who were wise and intelligent enough to see through the crap and the false promises and the grandiose “hope” b.s. to see a lying politician who would say and promise anything just to have POWER.
The rest of you imbeciles all acted like you had never seen or heard a politician promise you the moon before.
Now, if the country ends up in RUIN because of your idiotic votes for this loser, at least we will get the pleasure of telling you all that we friggin’ TOLD YOU SO.
August 29th, 2009 at 4:34 am
The reason (and the difference) why the public thought favorably of Reagan even despite two years of high unemployment in his first term is because REAGAN, unlike Obama, was talking SENSE and proposing SENSIBLE POLICIES that did not run counterintuitive to what the public knew made sense. Obama, on the other hand, propose that somehow we can ADD 50,000,000 people to those we insure, but somehow it will cost LESS than NOT insuring those extra 50,000,000 people. Obama is facing high unemployment but he’s proposing that somehow we can TAX our way to prosperity! Obama is telling us that we should PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE $10,000,000,000,000 DEBT BEHIND THE CURTAIN!
So is it any wonder there is a divergence in how the two men have been received early in their terms?
August 29th, 2009 at 7:48 am
Perhaps people are finally starting to understand the concept of “say one thing but do another”. Health care is only the tip of the iceberg. You can’t just spend taxpayer money like it is going out of style and blame it on the last guy. You can’t tell people you will stop foreclosures when you have no ability to do so. You can’t promise people you won’t raise their taxes when it is absurdly irresponsible to make such promises (see Bush I).
If you are poor and think Obama is on your side, think again. He would like to force you into a union (with no secret ballot) to pay dues so the union can contribute to him. He took substantial campaign contributions from hedge funds, Countrywide, AIG and others he has publicy vilified. He has added czar positions to avoid Senate confirmations after having more candidates for his cabinet rejected by Congress than either Clinton or Bush due to issues ranging from corruption to not paying taxes. These insane deficits will lead to substantial tax increases for all, no matter what your income or what he promises. There are not even close to enough people making over $250K to pay for everything and some of those people in small business will have to lay off employees to meet the increase tax obligation. In short, he has demonstrated his tolerance for corruption, BS and irresponsibility, so long as it brings him power. It will eventually blow up in his face, but the real question is: How much will this insanity cost us as taxpayers when it is over?
Suggested reading: Culture of Corruption – Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies
August 29th, 2009 at 7:59 am
It is finally being realized that Obama is not acting on his own ideals. The machine that got him elected by signing up every idiot to vote is leading him around by his bridle. Although Obama is a very intelligent, he is in way over his head.
AMERICA IS WAKING UP!!!!!
August 29th, 2009 at 10:01 am
How is it that he even made it this far since he did not qualify to be a President? He still has never shown his Birth Certificate. With a name like Barrack HUSSEIN MOHAMMED Obama I wonder why? It would seem if this was not an issue he would have gladly produced it when asked. How did he make it this far? Hang in there folks, if you look at everything he is doing you will clearly see we will soon be just like Cuba, a communistic country! Please check out this link: http://baptistsforbrown2008.wordpress.com/2008/02/23/who-is-barrack-hussein-mohammed-obama/
August 29th, 2009 at 10:29 am
At some point people will wake up and realize Obama isn’t even as economically savy as Jimmy Carter.
August 29th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Lets face it people. One man can’t do it all and the real problem is Congress and i mean both sides of the aisle. SET TERM LIMITS FOR SENATORS!!!! This would be a major step for us.
Regardless, the only choice was Obama, McCain would’ve been a disaster far superseeding anything we are dealing with now.
August 29th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Under 40% before Thanksgiving.
August 29th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
You people are very ignorant if you think Obama is going to turn the economy around. It was all an act promoted by the media to fool many into voting for him. In other words, MAN, WE ARE ALL REALLY SCREWED!!!!! UNEMPLOYMENT IS GOING TO KEEP GOING HIGHER!!!! Most black people still support him…hmmmm….but everyone else is starting to realize they made a mistake.
August 29th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Even a Messiah could not correct the mess this guy inherited in 1 year. Most likely, we will still have problems 3 years from now even if every program put in place is a winner between now and then. This mess has been brewing in this country since the ’70′s when Joe and Jane Sixpack took the bait of the media hyped “American Dream” (which used to be just a house in the suburbs, but now has morphed to a 10,000 sq ft McMansion with his and hers $100K sports cars/SUVs and all the designer labels credit can buy you). Maybe the upside to the average American’s modern dilemma will be a change in consciousness from focusing on immature “needs and desires” stemming from a cultural self esteem problem to focusing on those things that are truly important in life.
August 29th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Unfortunately the “bed” that was made by the majority of the whores that voted in the last election and fell for the Campaign Slogans of Barack Obama in the USA. 1. “Yes We Can”. 2. “Change” versus “More of the Same”. 3. “Vote for Change” 4. “Change We Can Believe In” **…now needs to have it’s sheets CHANGED!**
August 29th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
I am in full agreement with “morons_all,” who correctly points out that our minds have been sickened by crass commercialism and materialism, and if anything needs to change, it is the way we look at and decide what is “important.”
August 29th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Democrats spend and want larger central governmental agencies. Liberal Democrats spend like it’s not money and we don’t have to pay for it some way. They want the largest central government money can buy (including medical care) and inertia reigns supreme. You’d better pray the next election comes quickly or we will all be like S. Chicago…..on the dole with no hope or freedom of choice. Come on 2010 then 2012! The swing voters will turn the tide after being educated by Obamaism and Pelosism. Ugh. Scary.
August 29th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
It is a good thing that people have begun to question his intentions. This is not a good man nor are his intentions good.
August 29th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
“If Obama’s policies start to work, the negatives you see in the polls will turn around,”
——-
They wont work, good bye Dems and Libs and good riddance. The only thing you have done is political payoff to yourself at our expense.
August 29th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
A skit you will never see an late night comedy shows : Obama smoking crack saying ” screw economics class there is nothing to it”
August 29th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Savant,you forgot to mention that Obama was smoking crack with Larry Sinclair.
August 29th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
For all those sour right wingers
that lost the elections….
Pls stop reading the POST.
Email your nasty ideology to your own people.
The Palm beach post caters to the more intelligent demographics in Florida.
August 29th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Nice hearing from a bunch of people that outright say or imply how horrible everything is because of our lovely president. Get real!! Pres. Obama took over a sinking ship… Bad economy, bad real estate, bad stocks & bonds, business already starting to go down the drain & everybody is broke. Guess what!!! We were already broke when he took it over, he’s human & puts his pants on one leg at a time just like everybody else. No human could possibly turn everything around immediately – anyone thinking so needs to stop taking drugs & face reality. We are slowly improving after being dragged down by horrible years of lies & self destruction by our previous so called leader. If you think the Republicans will magically make everything great – then ask yourself why didn’t they do it in the last 8 years when they were in power. Pres. Obama has faced the reality that America is really lacking in health care. Guess what – we’re not a first tier in caring for health, in fact America is far down on the list compared to other major first world nations. Does anyone remember the Clinton years. The First Lady at that time tried hard & failed to get health coverage for everyone & our economy was much better then. People are afraid, I can’t blame them. Unfortunately, many think better stay with what I have than risk less. Who cares about those deadbeats who aren’t insured – if they really wanted it they’d get it! Reality is not finding full time jobs that offer insurance, but getting 2 part time jobs with no insurance, or having to choose between eating & insurance… Stop & think – what would you do tomorrow if you lost your job w/great health benes. Think there is no problem, because you’ll get insurance through COBRA from your old employer… Oops, didn’t know COBRA cost me $600/mo. Folks, I’ve been there, had to choose between COBRA insurance or food on the table, trust me paying almost 1/4 of my current take home pay to COBRA was not an option… Insurance was a luxury I couldn’t afford. I’ve got friends with children paying about $17,000/year for insurance – I may not even make $20K this year(my old salary was twice that) but at least I now am insured. I’d much rather have a Pres. that faces hard choices & still chooses to what’s right rather than easy. Go back & look at the Great Depression. Almost every American was hit hard, no jobs, no food, whatever they might have once had in the bank or stocks long gone. FDR provided jobs so people could survive & feed their families… Do you really think America had loads of money sitting around that no one was using. WW II, the country came together, sacrificed to provide for soldiers fighting, women had to replace the many men that went to fight for our country, our country faced major food & gas restrictions, Americans bought saving bonds to help our country out. Do you really think America is so corrupt at heart we are no longer capable of sacrificing for the good of our country. JFK said something to the effect of “Ask not what your country can do for you – Ask what you can do for your country”. Is America so morally bankrupt that we no longer care about the the unfortunates in our society. Yes, I’m worse off today than when Pres. Obama took over, yet I was even better off when Former Pres Bush came in – when he left our whole country was a lot worse off & he had 8 years for improvement. I say America didn’t get this way in a year, it’s going to take a lot longer than a year to recover. Instead of saying America is doomed by our leadership – tell me what your suggestions for ways to improve are! Tell me how you think we help out our local communities! Instead of complaining – get out there & do something!
August 29th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
A great many people vote with their pocketbook. No matter what party is in when things go south, is out. Look at history.
This frantic spending, though good for the press who have more emotion than brains, will not result in righting this economy. Our economy will right itself by itself but it will take longer while the Democrats tinker with all this wacky programs. Lending institutions really got hurt by the excessive lending. The Real Estate market will take 4-5 years to recover. Jobs will take even longer. Write this all down. They’ll be a test later and you’ll see your test scores in 2010 and 2012.
August 29th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Once again, Florida, along with Ohio and Michigan, infuenced an election through their mis-belief that this state, or the other two, sd. have a greater influence in electing presdients than smaller states such as NH and Iowa.
Hate to break it to Florida and the other states, you population, density, and belief that somehow your states and population are more reflective of the country at large, more important, and whatever elses idea you/they had are simply wrong.
From what I have scene of FL and considering the role it has played in the past in rigging and influencing presidential election, would simply wait your turn and when the time comes, turn out and vote when it is your turn.
Florida has done eight years of damage to the country and world so spare us all the songs about how important you are.
August 29th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Why pick on Fl. for all that is wrong with the country. About the voting recount recall that there was a number of “outsides” that were going to Fl to “visit” their relation so that they could vote here as well as the absente ballot in their home state.
August 29th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Coming soon:
http://la-gun.com/manning/obama6/
August 29th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Spare me this “Poor old Obana, he inherited a mess no one can fix.” His policies are nothing more than taking advantage of the problems and using them as cover to socialize America. HE ADDED 600 billion to the so-called 1.3 trillion deficit he “inherited” from a Dem controlled congress. That right folks, TARP was split into two payments. The Bush admin dispersed 267 billion , of which close to 70 billion is already paid back WITH INTEREST. The second installment by congress was at HIS request to Bush before Bush left office. HE spent it. Also his “stimulus” scam was nothing but payoff to political cronies, to the tune of 800 billion that will do little to nothing to fix the economy and will assure our tax servitude for decades to come. Also the lions share wont be wasted until 2010 and 2011. Lastly, you gullible people who bought all his crap about Hope and Change surely didnt have saying “no one can fix this” in your plans.
August 29th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
YOU PEOPLE ARE SO STUPID if you actually believe this country will be turned into a Communist country by one man. That’s not possible, there are laws to prevent that from happening. The Healthcare he’s propsing is Medicare but on a national bases, plus whether you know it or not you pay for the uninsured, when you go to the hospital and they charge $30 for one Asprin. That’s to pay for the asprin provided to the uninsured. The defict, what about it… No one was screaming the deficit when BUSH started and inwinnable war. Scaring all those gulliable people into think were actually safe form another Terrorist attck. Stop believeing the Fox News and support the Prez.
August 29th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Poll numbers can turn on a dime – as the Mavericky ones stand witness when their lead tumbled after the economy imploded. Obama is a brilliant strategist and a man for the people. He will get health care done — people will benefit and it will be a notch on his gun by next election. Don’t be confused – the real enemy is predatory capitalism and its gop henchmen who have perpetrated this meltdown. They have robbed us blind and you culturally inbred wingnuts are too enmeshed in your prejudices and fears to recognize a champion when you see one. President Obama has never claimed to be a Messiah, nor have his supporters given him that title. But he does embody the principles espoused by our Lord and Savior. Bigots everywhere would do well to open your minds and their hearts and love your neighbors as yourselves.
August 29th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
How naive for anyone to think any one can turn this shipwreck of an economy around in 8 months. It is better and it will continue to get better. The truth is things have always gotten better for the people under the dems and better for the rich under the gops. Things will get better for the people – just might take a little time.
Socialist – such a dirty word for so many of you who are deriving its benefits. Oh wait, it is only socialism when it benefits a group you don’t like, not when it benefits you.
There are certain things the government does well and whoever does it the best should do it. Private enterprise has had decades to fix the problem and has not taken the initiative to do so. Now, like the spoiled tyrants they are, they cry and call people names because the government is proposing to do it. They lie, they whine, they distort, they disrupt, they threaten. Silly rabbits. Just mad that it may cut into their obscene profits. So they incite the ignorant to grab their guns and hunt our president like an animal. Barbaric and insane, a bad combination if ever there was one.
August 29th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
LMAO that things got better for the people only under the Dems. Yeah? What about from 2006 to 2008? Statement like this render you not worth more than being laughed at, history, you know REALITY, soundly refutes you. Its amazing grown people can actually think and vote on stuff like this.
August 29th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Two words – trickle down…And that wasn’t rain water they were trickling down on us either.
gops typically resort to insults when they have nothing, distraction is their claim to fame…If you follow the gop formula, next you will strap your gun around your hips and threaten to shoot me. Empty, impotent, sad,and so very sad.
November 13th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
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