The president, as well as the Democratic Party, is in for something of a rude awakening with the results of a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, which found that Americans are less confident in Barack Obama’s leadership than they have been at any point since he was elected, as well as more pessimistic about the state of the nation than ever before. A surprisingly high 62 percent of adults feel the country is on the wrong track, and — for the first time ever — more people disapprove of Obama’s job performance than approve.
Analysts cited the ongoing oil spill as a major source of the shift, as the overwhelming majority of those polled said they favor stronger regulation of the oil industry and believe that the spill will affect the economy and environment. Democratic pollster Peter Hart said the results indicate “a really ugly mood and an unhappy electorate,” and that this could spell trouble for incumbents and Democrats in the upcoming elections. Of course, on the other hand, 41 percent of Americans also think Jesus will be coming back to visit by 2050, so it’s hard to know how seriously we should be taking any of this.
