Poll: Economic Crisis Batters Obama, Could Doom Re-election

The darkening economic cloud has sent President Barack Obama’s job performance ratings plummeting to just 47 percent — just 1 point higher than his lowest ever mark — according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

And his economic approval ratings are his worst since September, when he stood at 41 percent approval and 57 percent overall disapproval.

In the event that the White House didn’t receive the message, Wall Street drove the point home on Monday when benchmark rater Standard & Poor’s cut its long-term outlook on U.S. debt to a dismal negative rating, signaling a financial crisis if the Obama administration does not bring down the national debt.

Today’s poll shows that Americans agree with the S & P verdict. In a tie with his overall worst economic approval rating, 57 percent said they disapprove of how Obama is handling the economy, with 46 percent saying they strongly disapprove. Only 23 percent strongly approved.

On the heels of the gloomy economic news, GOP leaders renewed calls for more drastic cuts in federal spending saying raising the roof on debt should be contingent on those cuts.

Eric Cantor

Republican Rep. Eric Cantor, majority leader of the House, said Republicans would not sign off on any debt-limit increase without serious reforms, according to The Hill.

“For decades, Washington has blindly increased the debt-ceiling limit while doing little to stop spending money that it doesn’t have, a dangerous pattern that must end,” Cantor said. “As S&P made clear, getting spending and our deficit under control can no longer be put off for another day.”

In a statement, Rep. Paul Ryan — whose own plan promised to slash $6 trillion over a 10-year period — said that Obama’s current spending spree “threatens not only the lives of future generations, but also the economic security of American families today.”

For his part, Obama’s plan calls for raising income taxes and a repeal of the “Bush tax cuts” he originally agreed to continue on Dec. 7.

Obama’s poll numbers could doom his 2012 prospects: A Newsmax poll placed Donald Trump far ahead in a matchup with Obama — 68 percent would vote for Trump, 13 percent for Obama, and 13 percent for another candidate.

The independent vote, which Obama relied on heavily in his 2008 bid, remains dubious for 2012 after showing overwhelmingly in Republicans’ court last year. The Washington Post-ABC poll pits independents squarely against Obama — 55 percent disapproved of the job he is doing.