President Barack Obama's sliding popularity because of Obamacare's problematic rollout will likely complicate White House efforts to garner support for other key second term goals: immigration reform, expansion of access to early-childhood education, and raising the minimum wage, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Obama is viewed personally positive by 41 percent of Americans compared to 45 percent who see him in a negative light. This is Obama's record low as president, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.
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Opinion on his performance as president is also sliding. Just 42 percent of those polled approved of the way he is handling his job with 51 percent disapproving.
Lou D'Allesandro, deputy Democratic leader in the New Hampshire Senate said, "His credibility is hurt, because he said things that aren't quite true," a reference to Obama's vow that no one would lose their health plans under the Affordable Care Act. "Unless a couple of dramatic things happen, he could be a lame duck by January."
Former President George W. Bush had a 36 percent approval rating at a comparable point in his second term in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Former President Bill Clinton was popular with 58 percent of the public and Ronald Reagan with 62 percent at a comparable point in their presidencies.
Obama's second term agenda may also suffer as Democratic lawmakers and groups that share his philosophy — on immigration reform, for instance — distance themselves from the president over concerns that Obamacare's troubles could harm their political prospects, according to the Journal.
Meanwhile, the level of GOP disapproval makes it difficult for the president to build a bipartisan coalition for his legislative initiatives, the Journal reported.
Obama acknowledged the current state of affairs in a recent Texas appearance.
"Sometimes I worry, because everybody had such a fun experience in '08 at least, that's how it seemed in retrospect." Obama said. And 'yes we can' and the slogans and the posters, et cetera — sometimes I worry that people forget change in this country has always been hard."
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