President Barack Obama has an empathy problem heading into the midterms, as the percentage of Americans who believe he understands them or cares about their problems hits a record low.
According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll, “A career-low 46 percent say Obama understands the problems of people like them,” which means what had been Obama’s greatest strength, especially against Mitt Romney in 2012, is now a liability. In addition, the survey revealed that only 44% view Obama favorably, 46% think he is a strong leader, 45% think he has good managerial skills, and 49% believe “he can be trusted in a crisis.”
In 2012, exit polls found that 81% of voters thought Obama “cares about people like me,” while only 18% thought Romney did, and that was the main reason Obama defeated Romney in a stagnating economy. A mere two years later, Democrats do not want Obama campaigning for them in tight races because he is a liability.
Obama’s numbers went south after his response to the border crisis caused by his executive amnesty was to promise more of the same. In fact, immigration is Obama’s worst issue going into the midterms. His handling of ISIS and the Ebola crisis also contributed to the decline in the President’s numbers.
The poll was conducted October 23-26 and has a margin of error of +/- three percentage points.
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