For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Public losing trust in Obama!
Trust in President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies to identify the right solutions to problems facing the country has dropped off significantly since March, according to a new Public Strategies Inc./POLITICO poll. Just as Obama intensifies his efforts to fulfill a campaign promise and reach an agreement with Congress on health care reform, the number of Americans who say they trust the president has fallen from 66 percent to 54 percent. At the same time, the percentage of those who say they do not trust the president has jumped from 31 to 42. The president's party has taken a similar hit since the last Public Trust Monitor poll, with only 42 percent of respondents saying that they trust the Democratic Party, compared with 52 percent who do not. The party's numbers are nearly the inverse of March's survey, in which 52 percent said they trusted Democrats and 42 percent did not.
Is this a critical situation for the President, or a normal decline when the honeymoon ends? Does he need healthcare reform or cap and tax to pass in order to get his presidency back on track? Could he be in serious trouble if both die in Congress?
