Eric Zuesse
President Obama is the most-despised American President in history; he's dragging his Party down, but will Democrats impeach him, as Republicans did not impeach Bush (and thereby they became justifiably despised along with him, and so lost the 2008 election)?
Gallup had headlined on 22 April 2008 (bare months before the 2008 elections), "Bush's 69% Job Disapproval Rating Highest in Gallup History," and on 1 May 2008, CNN bannered "Poll: Bush Most Unpopular in Modern History" and they reported that, "A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Thursday indicates that 71 percent of the American public disapprove of how Bush is handling his job as president."
Republicans, of course, lost overwhelmingly in 2008.
However, by the time of 6 December 2010, Gallup headlined "Kennedy Still Highest-Rated Modern President, Nixon Lowest," and they reported that Bush's approval-rating had soared to 47%, while Nixon's remained at only 29%, and so Nixon was back again as the most-despised President.
Democrats lost elections overwhelmingly in 2010, because Bush's stain on his Party had washed out by then: short-attention-span Americans had forgotten even such recent history as pre-2009.
Now it's Obama who is dragging his Party down. On 24 June 2014 (and we are now less than 4 short months away from the November elections), I headlined at Huffington Post, "Gallup: The Lowest-Rated Living President Or Ex-President Is Barack Obama," and I reported: "A Gallup poll published on June 20th shows that the only living current or former occupant of the White House who has a negative rating from the U.S. public is its current occupant, President Obama, with 52% unfavorable, 47% favorable. All others of them are favorably rated. The least favorably rated of those (the one closest to Obama in unfavorability) is George W. Bush, with 53% favorable, 44% unfavorable. [That was up from around just 30% favorable in 2008.] His having invaded Iraq for non-existent WMD, and produced the 2008 crash, have apparently been forgiven, which is remarkable and which is due to his having increased his favorability rating from only 32% at the crash in 2008."
On Tuesday, July 15th, the Washington Post bannered, "New Election Lab forecast suggests 86 percent chance that GOP wins Senate," so that Republicans starting next year will probably (i.e.: divide 86% by 14% and the chances are higher than 6 to 1 odds that they'll) control both houses of Congress, and the final two years of Obama's Presidency are expected to be passing only legislation that Republicans want. This is merely the latest in a long line of such predictions of a total Republican grip on Washington during Obama's closing two years, 2015 and 2016. All polling shows that anything else than that outcome would require almost a miracle. But if Democrats push for Obama's impeachment, that impeachment of Obama by Democrats might provide this "miracle."
President Obama is far less popular now than is even former President George W. Bush, and the widespread disgust with Obama is the chief thing that's crippling the Democratic Party's chances of retaining control in the Senate. People are blaming congressional Democrats as if they're extensions of this profoundly unpopular President.
Americans should blame congressional Democrats -- unless congressional Democrats disown him, as being a fake "Democrat," not one of them but instead a Republican Trojan Horse conservative in their Party, and as his having pushed Republican-originated policies (including his Romneycare) -- which he did do.
He caved, before he even entered the White House, on his demand for a meaningful "public option," and he failed to stand firm on his signature campaign-promise to increase taxes on $250,000+ earners. Economic inequality has soared during his Presidency as a result of his continuing Wall Street bailouts, and most wage-earners have lost instead of gained in their purchasing-power under his regime. Only the top 5% have gained. Such rising inequality after an economic crash is practically unheard-of.
But those things might be laid to his being merely a bad President, rather than to his having done anything impeachable. That assumption, however, is false: he has done many impeachable things. Consider:
Presidential oath (he swore to it):
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
First, there is "I will faithfully execute the Office of President": he's the CEO "of the United States."
Get that! There is only one Chief Executive of the U.S., one person upon whose shoulders the entire Executive function rests; it is the President himself. As Harry Truman famously said: "The buck stops here."
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