Rasmussen Reports
Thursday, December 24, 2009
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 27% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -16 (see trends).
Earlier this morning, the United States Senate passed its version of health care reform on a party-line vote. The Senate Democrats must now reconcile the bill with the version passed by the House of Representatives and then hope to sell voters on the idea. Most voters (55%) oppose the health care legislation working its way through Congress. Those who feel strongly about the legislation are overwhelmingly opposed to it.
Most voters (54%) also believe they personally will be worse off if the health care plan passes. Just 25% think they will be better off. Some Democratic leaders and strategists have suggested the plan will become more popular once it has been passed and people see how it works.
A commentary by Michael Barone notes that it been more than 150 years since such significant but unpopular legislation was passed through Congress on a partisan basis. The political ramifications in 1854 were so significant that it led to the creation of a new political party, the Republican Party. Ultimately, the Kansas-Nebraska Act also played a key role in the run-up to the Civil War..
The article continues here.
