According to a new poll from Quinnipiac Unniversity, Americans love that guy Barack Obama, but aren't so sure about his policies:
Given four choices to describe their feelings about Obama, American voters say:
41 percent like him personally and like his policies;
33 percent like him personally, but don't like his policies;
1 percent like his policies, but don't like him;
19 percent don't like him or his policies.
Two quick points. First, Barack Obama's popularity is no surprise. Since his inauguration, Obama has been the most popular politician by a long shot, even when his approval was in the mid-40s. His core supporters — African Americans and liberals — love him, and voters tend to like his conciliatory rhetoric and willingness to work with Republicans.
Why hasn't this translated into support for his policies? Generally speaking, the public takes its cues from elites, and when elites are broadly supportive, the public is broadly supportive. Obama's major policy initiatives — the stimulus and health care reform — have been hugely contentious, as such, the public is far more ambivalent. Combine this with run-of-the-mill partisanship, and you have a decent explanation of why Obama is popular, but his policies are less so.
