http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-politics/11150023/Barack-Obama-the-end-of-a-love-affair.htmlBarack Obama: the end of a love affair
Six years after offering hope and change, polls show the American public has fallen out of love with their president – so where did it all go wrong?
By Peter Foster, Washington
9:00AM BST 09 Oct 2014
Barack Obama romped to the presidency of the United States in 2008 on a tidal wave of ‘hope and change’. Back then, the financial crisis was raging and US troops were still engaged in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, but a fresh-faced Mr Obama brimmed with confidence.
He predicted that future generations would look back on his election and see the moment “when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal…when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on earth.”
Six years later, Mr Obama is weary and greyed and finds his job approval ratings stuck in the low-40s. This October is the 17th consecutive months in which polls show that a majority of Americans disapprove of his leadership.
With November’s mid-term elections less than a month away, even fellow Democrats won't be seen dead with the man who once transformed their party's fortunes. Apart from some closed-door fundraisers, Mr Obama is all but invisible on the campaign trail.
continued...
