A new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds there are “stragospheric expectations” that incoming President Barack Obama will be able to deliver on his many campaign promises and help the US be in better shape four years from now:
Americans are as down as they’ve been in decades about the state of the country and its polarized politics, even as they express soaring confidence that Barack Obama will be able to turn things around.
A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds stratospheric expectations for the incoming president that his own supporters acknowledge may be unrealistic. A majority of those surveyed say Obama will be able to achieve every one of 10 major campaign promises, from doubling the production of alternative energy to ensuring that all children have health insurance coverage.
That’s clearly unlikely: he will have to prioritize some of his promises and start with the economy first. MORE:
Seven in 10 predict the nation will be better off when Obama’s term ends in four years.
Given where the U.S. is now on several fronts, that should be do-able and if it isn’t Obama will be a one-term President.
The towering ratings Obama receives from most Americans will give him political capital as he tries to pass his proposals, including a mammoth economic stimulus package that he says will cost about $850 billion. Those high hopes could give way to disenchantment, however, when problems erupt or promises are delayed — something Obama already has warned Americans to expect.
The for Obama is to get some important things done fairly quickly in his term, and not waste the inevitable but limited honeymoon on simply symbolic things that look good in the media but don’t really mean all that much. A plus for him: the poll shows that people are prioritizing themslves:
Those surveyed distinguish among his campaign promises, ranking some as more crucial than others.
Their clear priorities are the issues that hit home. On a list of campaign promises, five pocketbook issues take the five top spots, among them expanding health care for children and reducing health care costs. They include doubling the production of alternative energy, a step Obama says would help reduce reliance on gas and its volatile market.
Seven of 10 call it “very important” to them personally that he keep those promises. His pledges to cut income taxes for working families and pass a stimulus package that will build and repair bridges, roads and schools also are among the top five issues.
Withdrawing most U.S. combat troops from Iraq, Obama’s signature issue when he launched his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, ranks only sixth.
Which means he could face some static from his party’s far left since the poll shows he can do it on a timetable within reason of his own choosing. The bottom line: the economy is what people will watch most closely and expect to see some kind of change and progress. The war is important — but he will have more leeway on his timetable that than some voices on the left suggest.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.