Dick Morris: Obama Saved, for Now, By 'Demographics'

Why does Obama boast an average approval rating of 48 percent when he scores terribly on each issue he is now handling? Here’s the rundown in the latest Bloomberg News poll:

Do you approve or disapprove of Obama’s handling of ______?

Economy

Approve: 42% Disapprove: 53%

Healthcare

Approve: 40% Disapprove: 56%

Budget Deficit

Approve: 32% Disapprove: 59%

Terrorism

Approve: 51% Disapprove: 40%

Economic Security

Approve: 42% Disapprove: 51%

Immigration

Approve:40% Disapprove: 49%

Benghazi

Approve: 31% Disapprove: 51%

And the focus on Obama’s scandals is cutting deep with the American people.By 48 percent to 31 percent, Bloomberg found that Americans believe that the “extra scrutiny” the IRS gave to conservative groups was “politically motivated” and not “a product of bureaucratic shortcuts.”

Forty-seven percent of Americans said Obama “is not being truthful when he says he didn’t have prior knowledge of the extra scrutiny the IRS gave to conservative groups and that he learned about it through the news media.” Only 40 percent said he was “being truthful.”(also Bloomberg)

Latest: Is Susan Rice to Blame for Benghazi Cover Up? Was She Complicit? Vote Here.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll found that the majority of voters felt that “the Administration’s handling” of each of its three major scandals “raises doubts” about “the overall honesty and integrity of the Obama Administration.”

A. On Benghazi 58 percent said it raised doubts and 27 percent said it did not.

B. On the subpoena of journalists’ phone records, it was 58 percent versus 23 percent.

C. And on the IRS targeting of conservative groups, 55 reported doubts and 26 percent did not.

So it’s logical to ask what is holding Obama’s approval ratings up at 48 percent when his approval on key issues is down in the 40 percent to 42 percent range and his handling of scandals is so universally derided?

The answer is, of course, demographics. African-Americans, Latinos, gays, students, and single white women are so frightened of a world without Obama and so alienated from Republicans that they dare not give the president overall negative ratings.

Will they ever? Yes. When the scandals reach the point where they cannot avoid it and when the Republicans stop alienating these groups.

Immigration reform will the first break in the ice because it will remove the single issue that most holds Latinos captive to the Democratic Party. On abortion, the administration’s ability to wave Roe v. Wade as its banner guarantees the 2-to-1 support of single white women, about 20 percent of the electorate.

But ObamaCare offers the best option for bringing down Obama’s popularity. This signature program, so closely identified with his presidency, is becoming more and more unpopular as it nears implementation. Obama’s efforts to shore up its approval ratings are only likely to identify him more with its failings. The premium increases, the taxes and fines on young people, and the rationing of care to the elderly will become ever more apparent. And who can believe now that it ought to be administered by this Internal Revenue Service?

Bringing down Obama will take time, but the polling shows progress. Keep at it.

Latest: Is Susan Rice to Blame for Benghazi Cover Up? Was She Complicit? Vote Here.