"The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good."
-- Harold Pinter, Nobel Acceptance Speech"Obama is just a willing executioner. From the ruling class's point of view, he's the perfect figurehead because his mere appearance confuses and disarms so many. He seems to have spent his whole life trying to get chosen to play Judas. And that's all there is in his resume."
-- bevin, Comments line, Moon of Alabama
According to a newly-released Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, Barack Obama's job-approval ratings have dipped to a new low of 41 percent with a full 54 percent of respondents saying they "disapproved" of the job he's doing. Obama's handling of the economy, health care and foreign policy were particular areas of concern for most respondents. On health care, Obama is seen as having strengthened the for-profit insurance industry with little benefit for ordinary working people. The survey also showed "the lowest-ever approval" for the president's handling of foreign policy. And, on the economy, the results were even more shocking; a full 57% of the people polled "believe the U.S. is still in a recession" while "65 percent think the country is on the wrong track." Widespread disappointment in Obama's performance has weakened his support among blacks, Hispanics and women, traditionally, the most loyal groups in the Party's base.
There's no doubt that Obama has been hurt by the anemic recovery or by focusing on deficit reduction instead of job creation. High unemployment, flat wages and shrinking incomes have weighed heavily on expectations, which has put a damper on consumption and growth. Gallup's Economic Confidence index now shows a "sharp decline in the outlook for the future" ""with some 57 percent of the respondents saying things are getting worse, not better."
Indeed, things have gotten worse under Obama, much worse, which is why many of his most ardent supporters are falling off the bandwagon. And the disappointment is not limited to economic policy either. Recent surveys confirm what most people already know, that the public is tired of the interventions, the provocations, the meddling and the endless wars. The American people are increasingly isolationist and want the government to disengage from foreign conflicts. Here's an excerpt from a recent survey by PEW that sums up the mood of the country:
"For the first time since 1964, more than half (52%) agree that the U.S. should 'mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along the best they can on their own'; 38% disagree, according to a survey conducted Oct.-Nov. 2013. Similarly, 80% agree with the statement, 'We should not think so much in international terms but concentrate more on our own national problems and building up our strength and prosperity here at home.'" (U.S. Foreign Policy: Key Data Points from Pew Research, PEW Research Center)
The PEW poll merely expands on the findings in other surveys like this from the LA Times:
"Two thirds of Americans questioned in a recent poll said the 12-year war fought in Afghanistan 'hasn't been worth the price paid in lives and dollars.'
"The survey conducted for the media by Langer Research Associates of New York found that disillusionment with the U.S.-led war was expressed by a majority of all political leanings. Overall, 66% of respondents said the war hasn't been worth it. Those who identified themselves as liberals were most unhappy with the military investment: 78% said the war was a mistake." (Poll: Two thirds of Americans say Afghan war not worth fighting, LA Times)
The same is true of Iraq. The war wasn't worth fighting. Check this out on ABC News:
"Ten years after U.S. airstrikes on Baghdad punctuated the start of the Iraq war, nearly six in 10 Americans say the war was not worth fighting -- a judgment shared by majorities steadily since initial success gave way to years of continued conflict."Nearly as many in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say the same about the war in Afghanistan. And while criticisms of both wars are down from their peaks, the intensity of sentiment remains high, with strong critics far outweighing strong supporters." (A Decade on, Most are Critical of the U.S.-Led War in Iraq, ABC News)
And that brings us to today and the looming prospect of a war with Russia over developments in the Crimea. Here's what people are thinking according to a survey in the Washington Post:
"A new poll suggests Americans have very little appetite for any real involvement in the crisis in Ukraine. Only 29 percent of Americans would like for the Obama administration to take a 'firm stand' against Russia's incursion into its neighbor, according to the Pew Research Center poll, while nearly twice as many -- 56 percent -- prefer the United States not to get too involved in Ukraine.
"The poll reflects a war-weary American public that is still very reticent to get involved in international conflicts. The American people were similarly opposed to military intervention in Syria last year, despite President Obama calling for the use of force and seeking congressional approval for action." (Few Americans want "firm stand" against Russia in Ukraine, Washington Post)
Of course, Obama doesn't care what the American people want. He's going to do what he signed-on to do; crack down on civil liberties, strangle the economy, and spread war across the planet. As far as the warmongering goes -- he's doing an even better job than Bush. Don't believe me? Just check out this clip from the International Business Times:
"In their annual End of Year poll, researchers for WIN and Gallup International surveyed more than 66,000 people across 65 nations and found that 24 percent of all respondents answered that the United States 'is the greatest threat to peace in the world today.' Pakistan and China fell significantly behind the United States on the poll, with 8 and 6 percent, respectively." (In Gallup Poll, The Biggest Threat To World Peace Is... America? IBT)
There you have it, the Obama presidency in a nutshell: "The United States is the greatest threat to peace in the world today." Keep in mind, this survey wasn't taken during the Bush years. Oh no. This is all Obama's doing, every bit of it.
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