PRESIDENT Barack Obama must be feeling upbeat and positive ahead of his State of the Union Address (SOTU) on Jan. 20, 2015. After a dip in the polls following major challenges in the past two years, the Washington Post-ABC news Poll results show that Obama now enjoys a 50 percent approval rating — the highest in 18 months.
As reported by the Washington Post, the President’s rising approval ratings have been strengthened by rapidly improving perceptions of the economy and increased optimism about the overall direction of the country.
While it is still a split between those who approve and those who disapprove of the way Obama has been handling the economy (48-48), and only 39 percent believe the country is heading the right direction, the same poll reveals that more people surveyed give the President their vote of confidence over the Republicans in Congress, when asked the questions, such as:
“Overall, who do you trust to do a better job coping with the main problems the nation faces over the next few years?”;
“Who do you think has better ideas about Helping the middle class?”;
“Who do you think has better ideas about Increasing home ownership?”;
“Who do you think has better ideas about Creating jobs?”;
“Who do you think has better ideas about Helping more students afford college?”
“Who do you think is taking a stronger leadership role in the government in Washington these days?”
“Do you think the country should go in the direction (Obama wants to lead it), go in the direction (the Republicans in Congress want to lead it), or what?”.
When asked, “Obama says he will take executive actions intended to accomplish some of his administration goals if Congress does not act. Do you think Obama is or is not justified in taking this approach?” 50 percent said “justified” as opposed to 46 percent who voted otherwise.
Obama’s SOTU will have this reported growing support from the American people, as he helps push for economic policies that are aimed to help the middle class feel the economic recovery that has been happening under his leadership.
As the Huffington Post reported, Obama’s calls for increasing taxes on the wealthy, making community college free for many students and expanding paid leave for workers stand little chance of getting approval by the new Republican majority on Capitol Hill. But political analysts say the debate over which economic policies will be in the best interest of the middle-class will be critical in the coming campaign, leading up to the 2016 Presidential Elections.
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
