Obama Fulfilling the Expectations of Almost Half of Americans

Published on Nov 12 - 2009

A majority of respondents believe their president “inspires hope” and is “inexperienced.”

A year has passed since Barack Obama announced, to a global audience, that “change was coming to America.” A new poll conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion shows that the U.S. President has fulfilled the expectations of almost half of Americans, but certain negative labels that emerged during the course of last year’s presidential campaign have not been completely set aside.

In the online survey of a representative sample of 1,011 American adults, 48 per cent of respondents claim Obama has performed about the same as they expected, while more than a third (36%) believe Obama has been worse, and 12 per cent think he has been better.

While three-in-five Democrats (61%) say Obama has fulfilled their expectations, the same proportion of Republicans think the president has underperformed.

Almost half of respondents (46%) believe it is too early to judge Obama’s accomplishments as President, while one-in-ten (10%) say he has accomplished much in his first year. Two-in-five Americans (40%) think Obama has done little in his first year as president.

Four messages that Obama relied upon throughout the course of the 2008 campaign continue to resonate with a majority of Americans. Two-thirds of respondents (65%) think Obama represents a new brand of politics, 61 per cent claim he inspires hope, 56 per cent believe he has made progress in bringing change to America, and 52 per cent acknowledge that he has worked across party lines to get things done.

However, a majority of Americans also regard Obama as a person who is inexperienced (55%), who is more style than substance (52%) and who stands for big government (51%). Half of respondents, however, disagree with the notion that the U.S. president is too radical.

The Views of Voters
An examination of the sentiments of respondents who voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election reveals that three-in-five (60%) believe the candidate they supported is performing in roughly the same way they expected, while about one-in-five believe he has either done better (18%) or worse (19%).

A similar scenario ensues in the question related to the President’s accomplishments so far, with two-thirds of Obama voters (67%) saying it is too early to issue a verdict, and 18 per cent stating that Obama has accomplished much.

Respondents who voted for John McCain in 2008 are clearly more skeptical about Obama’s accomplishments (72% think the President has done little) and more likely to brand his performance as worse than they expected (62% feel this way).

Analysis
While the assessment of Obama’s tenure is still closely tied to party allegiance—particularly on the question related to accomplishments—the survey has both good and bad news for the current administration.

A large proportion of Americans still see Obama as a new kind of politician, who inspires hope and is working to change the country. However, a majority of respondents perceives the president as inexperienced, even after almost nine months in office.

As the term progresses, the variation of responses related to “hope” and “experience” will be key to understanding how Americans relate to the President, and whether their expectations are actually surpassed.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)