The GOP Plan Is Working Perfectly

And Obama is falling right into the trap.

Thirty-eight percent of independents approve of the job Barack Obama is doing as president, the first time independent approval of Obama has dropped below 40% in a Gallup Daily tracking weekly aggregate. Meanwhile, Obama maintains the support of 81% of Democrats, and his job approval among Republicans remains low, at 12%.

Over the past year, Obama has lost support among all party groups, though the decline has been steeper among independents than among Republicans or Democrats. Today's 38% approval rating among independents is 18 percentage points lower than the 56% found July 6-12, 2009. During the same period, his support has fallen nine points among Democrats (from 90% to 81%) and eight points among Republicans (from 20% to 12%).

Overall, 46% of Americans approve of the job Obama is doing as president in the June 28-July 4 aggregate, one point above his lowest weekly average. Obama's average weekly job approval rating has not been above 50% since Feb. 8-14, though it reached the 50% mark as recently as May 3-9.

Obama's lower ratings come amid a still-struggling economy, the ongoing difficulties presented by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the recent change of command in the war in Afghanistan. Underscoring the challenge at hand, Obama's 44% approval rating in July 2-5 polling (Gallup did not interview July 4) ties his lowest three-day average to date.

The plan is as elegant as it is simple:  make sure nothing passes in the Senate and blame Obama when the country continues to fall apart, then make gains in November.  Repeat until you control Congress and the White House.  Now Obama's in a situation where by giving away everything to Republicans up front in order to secure their votes, they've simply stabbed him in the back and blocked everything anyway.  Only an amazing effort of will got health care reform through, and the President is unwilling (and now unable with only 59 Senate votes) to get anything else passed.  Now is when he needs Republican help the most, and now is when the Republicans he thought he could work with will oppose him straight down the line.

And he has no one to blame other than himself for believing for a second that the GOP wasn't out to destroy him or the country at the expense of winning in 2010 and 2012.  Been saying that for well over a year now.  All Republicans have to do is run out the clock until Labor Day, and they win.  It really is that simple, folks.  It's a damn shame Team Obama couldn't have figured this out, say, January 20, 2009.

Damn shame.