How the Public Sees Obama

David Firestone wrote on this blog yesterday that Republicans in Congress want to deny the president anything he might want. They’re driven by a desire to block him at every pass. Meanwhile, Maureen Dowd has been dissecting Mr. Obama’s weaknesses, arguing that the president “hates selling.” (Read her two recent columns here and here).

Which explains the continuing paralysis in Washington — Mr. Obama’s weakness or the Republicans’ malicious obstructionism? A new poll by The New York Times and CBS News sheds some light on how the public approaches that question.

Mr. Obama’s overall approval rating is fairly low — 47 percent positive and 45 percent negative. (It’s amazing that 8 percent of Americans have no opinion about Mr. Obama.)

Mr. Obama is in the low 40s when it comes to his handling of immigration issues. People are split on whether they trust Republicans in Congress or Mr. Obama more to solve a variety of problems — the economy, the budget deficit, immigration, gun laws. Just three months ago, 50 percent said they trusted Mr. Obama more than the Republicans on the economy and the deficit. Now he’s in the low 40s.

But, and here’s where it gets interesting, Americans actually agree with Mr. Obama on every one of those issues.

A majority of Americans thinks gun control laws should be more strict — 88 percent think there should be background checks on every gun purchase, 50 percent think semi-automatic weapons should be banned, and 59 percent were either disappointed or angry that the background checks bill failed.

Eighty percent said there should be a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants if they meet requirements like paying fines and back taxes, and 56 percent say we should not wait until after the border is strengthened to start that process. Seventy-four percent said illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay — either to apply for citizenship (43 percent) or as guest workers (21 percent).

The majority also thinks that the right way to address the budget deficit is to both increase taxes and cut spending.

Why is it that most Americans agree with Mr. Obama on the issues, but give him so-so marks overall? One possibility is that they think he deserves at least part of the blame for failing to achieve his (popular) policy goals.

Basic disappointment might have something to do with this disconnect. No one has ever expected much of Congress (which is far more unpopular than the president, with a disapproval rating of 75 percent). But Mr. Obama came into office promising change, and he has not always fought for his agenda early enough or hard enough. The president is often remote and professorial in his public appearances. He also has gone back on some big campaign promises — including his pledge to bring transparency to Washington. (On national security issues, he’s as secretive as his predecessor).

Congressional Republicans block what the president, and the people, want. But the people seem to think that the president should be able to find a way around the impasse.