Obama at 86% approval among liberal Democrats

[UrbScotty]

http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Approval-Center.aspx

The more liberal you are, the more likely it is that you approve of how Obama is doing. And the higher your level of education, the more likely you are to approve of how Obama is doing.

[TheWraith]

1. Always good news to hear!

We have good taste in presidents.

[no limit]

2. Would Obama even claim to be a liberal?

[harun]

87. No, he wouldn't.

[CakeGrrl]

3. k/r

[Dawgs]

4. LOL. Liberal Democrats approve of the non-Liberal Democrat.

Unless being pro-war, pro-wall street, and anti-gay marriage is now liberal.

[great white snark]

8. Liberal Democrats approve of their fellow Democrat.

Maybe other issues like being pro-choice are also considered.

[Silent3]

19. His positions are *relatively* liberal in the spectrum of American politics

Especially if one has the patience to temper opinions about his positions on war, Wall Street, and gay marriage with details, rather than treating them like binary pro/con issues, and if one compares where his positions fall on the American political spectrum with what any of the current Republican candidates would bring to the table on the same issues.

Obama hasn't gotten us out of Iraq and Afghanistan nearly as fast as I'd have preferred, but at least we didn't start a war with Iran too. There are liberals (maybe not by your litmus tests, but you don't personally get to define what "liberal" is) who support his intervention in Libya, and I'm one of them.

Obama hasn't been anywhere near as tough on Wall Street as I'd like, and has way too many Wall Street insiders in positions of power than I'd like, but we wouldn't have Elizabeth Warren or even watered-down financial reform from a Republican President.

Obama, again not nearly as aggressively and forcefully as I'd have liked, did at least end DADT, and he does seem to be moving in the direction of supporting gay marriage. On the other side of the political spectrum from "liberal" we've got nut cases who want Constitutional amendments banning gay marriage, which makes being relatively liberal pretty easy.

[treestar]

37. No, liberals simply do not consider him anti-everything you mentioned

[SadPanda]

61. I'd appreciate some sort of background to your comment?

I don't believe he is ANY of that. I consider him to be decently left of center. Certainly far more to the left than Clinton was.

[johnaries]

68. apparently, most Liberals disagree with you. nt

[Avant Guardian]

84. It's like the same thread gets recycled every 3 weeks

[boppers]

95. ...with the same back and forth comments.

*shrug*

[Marblehead]

5. this must be from bizzaro world

obama is not a liberal..

[Tarheel_Dem]

33. That wasn't a poll question. Liberals approve of the Democratic President.

Get over it. I have no idea why some are mystified by this. Clinton wasn't a liberal either, but he consistently got high marks from liberals.

[Marblehead]

48. "get over it"

where have I heard that before???

[Tarheel_Dem]

53. No idea, and could care less.

:eyes:

[wakemewhenitsover]

6. Another factor here...

Liberals are smart enough to report that they approve of the job Obama is doing, for the sake of supporting a Democrat publicly, even if they don't truly approve of the many decidedly non-liberal policies the Obama administration has supported.

[TheWraith]

14. Tighten the tin foil hat a little more.

Anything to justify your belief, contrary to all evidence, that Obama is terrible and hated by Democrats.

[wakemewhenitsover]

50. There's no reason to trot out the tired old tin-foil hat...

...and no reason to assign beliefs to me that I don't hold, either. To set the record straight: I don't believe Obama is terrible; he's a mixed bag. I certainly don't think he is hated by Democrats. To the contrary, I have no trouble believing poll numbers that indicate Obama has strong Democratic support. However, my personal experience in daily contact with many liberal Democrats by no means suggests a 86% approval rating. I am surprised that the approval rating of liberal Democrats is actually higher than it is for Democrats in general. Hence, I seek an explanation. No foil required for an inquiry that is truly based upon evidence.:tinfoilhat:

[uponit7771]

79. There's no reason to assign other motives than liberals like Obama either

[leveymg]

7. In what parallel universe does Gallup find its survey population?

[n2doc]

10. +1

I work in a very liberal environment and no one strongly approves of what Obama has done. The best I get as a response is the "He's better than McCain" and "He's better than the alternative and doing what he can". These polls make it seem like people are rabidly enthusiastic for Obama. Maybe so, just nowhere I've been lately.

[Donnachaidh]

15. thank you!

I personally love these *rah rah -- the numbers are...* postings only because you can gage how bad things are getting by the amount and speed of the postings here. One day six of them came out rapid-fire after a particularly nasty little nugget about Libya was posted.

[Kind of Blue]

27. Then can we say that by your analysis

the opposite is true? I mean does the incredible amount of Obama bashing at DU gauge that things are getting better? Just a weird analysis of polling results to me.

[Name removed]

58. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tarheel_Dem]

35. So should we gauge the president's success by the ramping up of posts

from WSWS.org? You have to get used to the fact that you're not Obama's base, and that's okay. You're just in a teeny weeny, but vocal minority, and that's okay too. :hi:

[jefferson_dem]

18. -1

For reality denial.

[ProSense]

20. Maybe Gallup

went to Netroots Nation?

[shellgame26]

88. +1

The denial is palpable }(

[johnaries]

69. The Real One. The One that actually Matters. nt

[Hawkowl]

90. The universe where all the liberals are no longer Democrats

I think Liberal Democrats are becoming as scarce as Moderate Republicans. These two major constituencies of the two major parties are ashamed to identify themselves as belonging to parties that no longer espouse their respective core beliefs.

[nichomachus]

9. Both of them?

[RBInMaine]

11. And the other 14% will work and vote for him too since he's 1000% better than ANY RePUKE.

[theaocp]

13. What happens when unemployment stays high and the Republicans

link it to Obama? 9%+ unemployment becomes the new norm and ain't nobody gonna give a shit about them. I humbly suggest the man stop trying to hit the Republicans and fucking hit them.

[SadPanda]

62. Actually, the unemployment rates matter in particular states.

Namely Ohio, Virginia, and Florida. If Obama carries just one of those he gets reelected.

[theaocp]

12. So, bankers are now well-educated liberals? Who knew?

What does it mean if I'm a well-educated liberal who wishes Obama would replace a good chunk of his cabinet with ACTUAL FUCKING LIBERALS? Probably time for my drug-testing. :puke:

[TheWraith]

16. Perhaps you should try reading actual news instead of lies. nt

[theaocp]

21. D'oh! Duped again!

You've changed me with your poignant and critical approach. :pals:

[great white snark]

23. Michelle Bachmann tried (and failed) to tie Obama to Wall Street.

So you'd thought to give it a shot?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/029005.php

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[great white snark]

34. "Man-crush?"

Thanks for the standard "bad, bad Timmy" reply.

:hi:

[theaocp]

51. De rien.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/24/obama-and-geithner-have-a_n_587150.html

Love, kisses, and lollipops.

[mzmolly]

32. Are you saying 86% of liberals are bankers?

eom

[jefferson_dem]

17. Truth...

that the smattering of squeeky wheels do not reflect the whole lot.

[Andy823]

22. That's great

Of course the Obama haters and the right wing trolls are not going to like this, but then again all "they" like are the "negative" things that they post about our president! Truth sometimes is hard for them to swallow! :evilgrin:

[comtec]

24. I call bullshit, look at how it's phrazed

"The more liberal you are, the more likely it is that you approve of how Obama is doing. And the higher your level of education, the more likely you are to approve of how Obama is doing."

It's dog whistle stuff.
that and I find it hard to believe im in the 14 percentile.....

that said, as someone said, compared to the GoP I'd say yes as well.
the alternative is horrible.
that's the problem. he;s better than the other.


we really need a third party based on LABOR, NOT the corporations.

[banned from Kos]

26. that would be "phrased" but nevertheless at least on

previous liberal websites I found that to be 100% accurate.

Education level high = more inclined to support the President.

[mzmolly]

30. Why not a third Tea Party?

That would enable democrats to build a stronger labor foundation.

[uponit7771]

82. LOL!!! Most liberals like Obama and the 14%ers are looking like the fringe

[mzmolly]

28. ROFL!

:rofl:

Good to know I'm among the educated liberal populace. :hi:

[Kind of Blue]

29. KnR. n/t

[Tarheel_Dem]

31. Good to know!

:kick:

[Tarheel_Dem]

36. I just have to kick this again. The 14% aren't the base, "they're not even the base-ment"

Courtesy of blackwaterdog, and it's absolutely true. These are the folks who move from election cycle to election cycle tyring to suppress Democratic enthusiasm.

:kick:

[banned from Kos]

38. Yes YES YESS! how I can I agree with your comment

without this superfluous piling on?

(new here)

[Wait Wut]

45. It's okay to pile on.

Positive support is never superfluous. B-)

The name is intriguing. I "self-banned" from Kos. :evilgrin:

Welcome!

:hi:

[great white snark]

49. Welcome!

:toast:

[hay rick]

39. Would that be self-described liberals?

For example, somebody who favors repeal of DADT and legalization of marijuana along with "lower taxes" and a "strong military" might describe themselves as liberal- but I wouldn't.

[muriel_volestrangler]

44. Is that a 'No True Liberal' argument I see forming?

If you want to limit the term 'liberal' to your own tests for it, then perhaps the approval rating from it for Obama will drop. But so will its importance, as it drifts to the fringe.

The relevant approval numbers from the poll are:
Liberal Democrat 86%
Moderate Democrat 78%
Conservative Democrat 72%
Pure Independent 35%
Liberal/Moderate Republican 30%
Conservative Republican 10%

and, without a party description:
Liberal 75%
Moderate 54%
Conservative 26%

Overall: 47& approval.

There's a pretty clear pattern - Obama has strong support among liberals, and weak among conservatives. His policies are to the left of the centre of the US electorate.

[hay rick]

56. Thanks for answering a question with a question.

I don't claim to be the custodian of the definition of "true liberal" but clearly, Gallup has its own way of classifying people as liberal and I'm wondering what it is. Did the pollsters ask a series of other questions which they used to classify people as liberals, moderates, or conservatives or did they just ask respondents to identify themselves as liberal, moderate, or conservative and as Democrat, Republican, or independent? I'm assuming they did the latter, but I don't know or I wouldn't be asking.

I find it interesting that they came up with 3 kinds of Democrats and that they lumped liberal and moderate Republicans together. I assume they did that because the majority of people who identified themselves as Republicans also identified themselves as conservatives. And what is a "pure independent"? Any relation to the mythological "true liberal"?

I question if his policies are really to the left of the "centre" of the US electorate. Such a center is an imaginary point and is probably inhabited by virtually no one. I expect Obama is to the left of the electorate on some issues and to the right on others. On balance, I think he's probably closer to the center than either end of the political spectrum. I attribute a significant portion of his current support in polls to the dysfunctional show being put on by his prospective Republican opponents.

[muriel_volestrangler]

57. A good part of the reason for the dysfunctional Repub candidates is their success in 2010

They went further right, as a group, and did better than 2006 or 2008. So it seems a significant proportion of American voters are very right wing. I think I'll stand by my saying he's to the left of the centre of the voters. Yes, I'll accept he's closer to the centre that either end; this is not at all surprising for someone who runs (and wins) nationally.

To answer your original question - I'd think it is self-identification. I suspect they put liberal and moderate Republicans together because almost no-one calls themselves a 'liberal Republican' these days, after so many years of demonisation of 'liberal' by Republican politicians. It would be such a small category that it could be misleading to report numbers for it at the same time as the larger ones.

[Scuba]

40. Be cool if some of them would show up and vote in non-Presidential elections. n/t

[Wait Wut]

46. +1

...for making me wanna cry.

[kstewart33]

41. I'm a liberal and aside from Afghanistan, I think he's doing a fine job.

Then again, I don't expect perfection in any president. That's a fool's game.

[SadPanda]

66. In my humble opinion, he has made the correct decisions in Afghanistan...

Keep in mind we're also tied to support NATO in the region. If we just haphazardly pulled out we would have lost longterm support as they came to our aid in the first place. Also, we are in a far better strategic position in Afghanistan & Pakistan than we were when Obama took office in 2009.

Also, he repeatedly said he wanted to fight the "real war" in Afghanistan. He's been doing that. He even got Bin Laden.

[hay rick]

42. Higher education level correlates with higher income.

Wondering if stronger correlation exists between income and approval or education and approval.

[Jakes Progress]

43. Gotta love those bullshit polls.

Don't ask any deep questions though.

It has been mentioned elsewhere on this site that most of that "approval" is distaste for republicans and the simple act of not speaking ill of your own to strangers. If someone asked me if I approved of Obama, I would say yes if I didn't get to express those things of which I disapprove.

But hey. If a simplistic set of numbers make you happy, go ahead and party. That party will last all the way until the election.

[progressoid]

47. It's the Independents the he needs to worry about. Polling at 30-35%

They voted for Obama 48% to 43% last time. And since they represent a third of the electorate, he'll need to get those numbers up.

[Indykatie]

63. Independents Decide Elections ...A Fact Whether We Accept It Or Not

That fact drives many of the centrist positions. I do believe Obama is the most liberal president we will see.

[Kaleva]

52. DU, as far as I know, has never been representative of liberal Dems as a whole.

[quantass]

54. IF THE POLL IS TRUE -- Funny that Obama throws down POCKET CHANGE and liberals hungrily lap it up

No, i think the informed liberals / democrats are deeply disappointed in Obama and would gladly vote for an alternate candidate / independant. If the choices were only Obama and the republican offering one would hold their nose and vote Obama. And you call that approval?

I suppose we'll see the results of disrespecting and demoralizing your base will have on pulling voters to the poll this time around.

[ProSense]

55. Maybe "informed liberals" see

a President who has done more than most Presidents on many issues. Maybe "informed liberals" don't see that as evidence that President Obama is a sellout, or worse, right wing.

He's got all of Bush's policies to reverse, and some of them are going to be harder to do than others.

Going back to the Clinton years, Obama has reversed or is making progress toward reversing/improving 1990s policies, including DOMA, DADT, Glass-Steagall repeal (implemenatation of the Volcker Rule), trade and more.

Obama doesn't get credit for delivering health care reform, Wall Street reform, which included the first ever CFPB. Obama doesn't get credit for appointing Elizabeth Warren to set up the CFPB, but he gets criticized for not yet making her permanent to an agency that wouldn't exist if not for him. He is doing what he said he would do on Iraq and Afghanistan.

He's done a lot in his first two and a half years.

He's got a lot more promises to fulfill and a lot more to do, but he keeps going, trying to fix what other Presidents screwed up.

Maybe that's what "informed liberals" see?

[jaysunb]

75. +1

:thumbsup:

[shellgame26]

89. +1

:toast:

[uponit7771]

80. So the other 86% who like the guy are "uninformed" and you're not?!?! You're kidding right?!

[Name removed]

59. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Indykatie]

65. What Drives The Low Approval Among the Medicare Crowd

I would expect those numbers to be higher given the republican attacks on Medicare and the president's defense of the program. Does that high 30% resulty surprise anyone else given all the focus on the Ryan plan?

[Name removed]

74. Deleted message

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[LiberalAndProud]

60. I'd really like to know what is being measured here.

Not much of anything, really.

[great white snark]

86. This thread? The measure of guilt one feels having urealistic, unreasonable expectations.

Some have it some don't.

[Fearless]

64. Why are only 86% of those who he's supposed to be supporting supporting him?

[Tarheel_Dem]

73. Oh I don't know, let's ask Al Gore about that 14%. They can't win an election,

and they hate any Democrat that can. Go figure....:eyes:

[Fearless]

85. Oh yes, it's all Gore's fault... right after it's all Nader's fault...

Right after it's gays' fault, right after it's XY & Z's fault. Good luck with that.

[Tarheel_Dem]

94. And where did I fault Gore? He was the victim of the Gore=Bush meme

pushed by the farther reaches of the left. Are you saying that Obama is somehow deficient because the 14% don't approve? Are you saying that any other Dem Prez would be at 100% approval at all times?

To borrow a phrase from Stephen Colbert, I don't think the Prez should sweat the backwash. They are not the Democratic Party. :hi:

[johnaries]

67. Which just proves that the loud voices on DU are not representative

of the greater Liberal population.

[IrishEyes]

70. My friend is a liberal Mensa member who thinks Obama is doing a good job.

I'm smart but I'm not quite that smart. I'm a liberal who loves Obama.

[hulka38]

71. I wonder what percentage of liberals approve of these stupid unnecessary wars?

[uponit7771]

83. Not many, but the 86% don't define Obama as a Bush like warmonger

[hulka38]

93. I'm fairly certain that Obama could convince the 86%

that dropping bombs in Syria, Qatar and maybe a few other places (not including Pakistan and Yemen because we're already bombing them) would be fine. As I'm writing this, I'll bet this same liberal 86 doesn't even know who we're bombing anymore and frankly doesn't much care. You made the comparison to Bush, not me.

[Scurrilous]

72. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

76. Proud liberal. Thrilled to recommend!! n/t

[SkyDaddy7]

77. The other 14% are all here on DU!

I guess? :shrug:

[woo me with science]

78. They are spending an awful lot of time and effort trying to prove that liberals still like him. nt

[uponit7771]

81. Most Americans don't hate facts, that's not "trying"

[muriel_volestrangler]

91. That's a remarkably faith-like attitude to take

'woo me with science' doesn't apply to polling, then? You'll just shut your mind against findings that don't match with your personal experience?

[Ter]

92. Probably higher than his approval at DU

I'd put it at 75-80% here.