Two years into President Barack Obama's second term,more voters say they are dissatisfied with his administration's handling of everything from the economy to foreign policy,giving him the worst marks of any modern U.S. president, a poll on Wednesday said.
In a survey of 1,446 registered voters, 33 percent said Obama was the worst president since World War Two, while 28 percent pointed to his predecessor, George W. Bush, as the worst, the poll by Quinnipiac University found.
Voters were split over which of the two most recent presidents has done a better job with 39 percent saying Obama has been a better president than Bush and, 40 percent saying Obama is worse.
Most voters said Ronald Reagan, who served two terms in the 1980s, was the best president since 1945, the survey showed.
"Over the span of 69 years of American history and 12 presidencies, President Barack Obama finds himself with President George W. Bush at the bottom of the popularity barrel," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of Quinnipiac University's polling unit.
While Obama's job approval rating has inched higher to 40 percent, up from 38 percent in December, more voters gave him largely negative marks in key areas: the economy, foreign policy, healthcare and terrorism, according to the poll.
On the environment, 50 percent gave Obama positive marks.
The telephone survey, taken June 24 to June 30, had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
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U.S. President Obama loosens his tie in the heat before delivering remarks on the economy at the Georgetown Waterfront Park in Washington. |
Voters were split over which of the two most recent presidents has done a better job with 39 percent saying Obama has been a better president than Bush and, 40 percent saying Obama is worse.
Most voters said Ronald Reagan, who served two terms in the 1980s, was the best president since 1945, the survey showed.
"Over the span of 69 years of American history and 12 presidencies, President Barack Obama finds himself with President George W. Bush at the bottom of the popularity barrel," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of Quinnipiac University's polling unit.
While Obama's job approval rating has inched higher to 40 percent, up from 38 percent in December, more voters gave him largely negative marks in key areas: the economy, foreign policy, healthcare and terrorism, according to the poll.
On the environment, 50 percent gave Obama positive marks.
The telephone survey, taken June 24 to June 30, had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
President Barack Obama told his Cabinet on Tuesday to look for areas where he might be able to govern by executive action given gridlock in Congress that is hampering his agenda.
Obama said he wants to work with Congress where possible, "but if Congress is unable to do it," then he said his Cabinet officials and agency heads should look for areas where executive actions can "show some real progress."
"The people who sent us here, they just don’t feel as if anybody is fighting for them or working them. We’re not always going to be able to get things through Congress ... but we sure as heck can make sure that the folks back home know that we are pushing their agenda and that we’re working hard on their behalf," Obama said.
Obama's comments amounted to a recognition he is unlikely to get substantial legislation through Congress this year ahead of congressional elections in November elections.
Republicans are in no mood to compromise ahead of elections in which they could take control of the Senate from the Democrats and build on their majority in the House of Representatives.
Obama on Monday said House Speaker John Boehner had told him last week the House would not vote on immigration legislation this year.
Obama, who has pushed for the immigration overhaul, said his advisers would give recommendations to him by the end of the summer on what he can do administratively on the issue. The president this year has raised the minimum wage for federal contract workers and taken other steps through executive order, but he is limited on how far he can go without actual legislation.
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President Barack Obama speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House with from left, Arne Duncan, education secretary; Sylvia Mathews Burwell, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, and Sally Jewell, interior secretary, on July 1, 2014 in Washington, D.C. |
In a White House meeting, Obama brought together the top officials in his government a day after conceding that a deadlocked Congress will prompt him to act on his own authority where he can on an immigration overhaul.
Obama said he wants to work with Congress where possible, "but if Congress is unable to do it," then he said his Cabinet officials and agency heads should look for areas where executive actions can "show some real progress."
"The people who sent us here, they just don’t feel as if anybody is fighting for them or working them. We’re not always going to be able to get things through Congress ... but we sure as heck can make sure that the folks back home know that we are pushing their agenda and that we’re working hard on their behalf," Obama said.
Obama's comments amounted to a recognition he is unlikely to get substantial legislation through Congress this year ahead of congressional elections in November elections.
Republicans are in no mood to compromise ahead of elections in which they could take control of the Senate from the Democrats and build on their majority in the House of Representatives.
Obama on Monday said House Speaker John Boehner had told him last week the House would not vote on immigration legislation this year.
Obama, who has pushed for the immigration overhaul, said his advisers would give recommendations to him by the end of the summer on what he can do administratively on the issue. The president this year has raised the minimum wage for federal contract workers and taken other steps through executive order, but he is limited on how far he can go without actual legislation.
President Barack Obama has chosen former Procter & Gamble Chief Executive Bob McDonald, an Army veteran, as his nominee to be the next secretary of veterans affairs, a senior Obama administration official said on Sunday.
Obama's announcement of McDonald, 61, will be made this week, possibly on Monday. If confirmed by the Senate, McDonald would be tasked with repairing the Veterans Administration after widespread evidence of delays in military veterans getting healthcare at VA facilities.
The announcement is to come days after a White House review found significant and chronic failures across the board at the Veterans Administration and evidence that a "corrosive culture" prevails.
A senior administration official said Obama was attracted to McDonald by his corporate background and military service. He would succeed Eric Shinseki, who resigned late in May after the depth of the VA's problems became clear.
McDonald is the former chairman, president and CEO of Procter & Gamble, having retired a year ago after 33 years with the Fortune 500 company, where he started as a brand assistant in 1980 and rose through the ranks.
He served on the McKinsey Advisory Council, the Singapore International Advisory Council of the Economic Development Board, and on the boards of U.S. Steel and Xerox Corp.
Officials believe his lengthy tenure at P&G prepares him well for a huge agency with management challenges in providing services to more 8 million veterans a year. At P&G, he oversaw more than 120,000 employees, with operations around the world, selling products in more than 180 countries.
MILITARY BACKGROUND
Having graduated in the top 2 percent of his class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, McDonald served in the U.S. Army as a captain, primarily in the 82nd Airborne Division, and received the Meritorious Service Medal.
"Bob is an immensely gifted and caring individual. That was evident to me when we first met as cadets at West Point, over 40 years ago," retired Major General James "Spider" Marks said in a statement. "He came from a military family, and knows the challenges from living them."
American Express Chief Executive Ken Chenault, who served on the P&G board during McDonald's time there, called McDonald a strong manager who knows how to make large organizations work effectively.
"Bob has a deep, personal commitment to serving our country that is as strong now as it was during his days at West Point. He's an excellent choice to set the right course for the Veterans Administration at a difficult time," Chenault said in a statement.
Corporate colleagues of McDonald repeatedly cited his management abilities in grappling with large and complex organizations.
"Prior to retirement, he navigated Procter and Gamble through the difficult post-financial-crisis years, where he expanded business in developing markets and made substantial progress improving the efficiency of the company's internal operations," Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said in a statement.
Xerox CEO Ursula Burns said McDonald had been on the Xerox board since 2005 and had provided expertise that was helpful during the company's 2010 acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services Inc, a deal that doubled Xerox' workforce and shifted its business.
The White House review, which was conducted by senior Obama aide Rob Nabors, said the agency's 14-day scheduling standard for new patients to receive care was arbitrary, ill-defined and misunderstood.
Obama accepted the findings on Friday by Nabors and acting Veterans Secretary Sloan Gibson, who said: "We can and must solve these problems as we work to earn back the trust of veterans."
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| Robert "Bob" McDonald, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Procter & Gamble Co., speaks during a panel discussion at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Jan. 15, 2013. |
Obama's announcement of McDonald, 61, will be made this week, possibly on Monday. If confirmed by the Senate, McDonald would be tasked with repairing the Veterans Administration after widespread evidence of delays in military veterans getting healthcare at VA facilities.
The announcement is to come days after a White House review found significant and chronic failures across the board at the Veterans Administration and evidence that a "corrosive culture" prevails.
A senior administration official said Obama was attracted to McDonald by his corporate background and military service. He would succeed Eric Shinseki, who resigned late in May after the depth of the VA's problems became clear.
McDonald is the former chairman, president and CEO of Procter & Gamble, having retired a year ago after 33 years with the Fortune 500 company, where he started as a brand assistant in 1980 and rose through the ranks.
He served on the McKinsey Advisory Council, the Singapore International Advisory Council of the Economic Development Board, and on the boards of U.S. Steel and Xerox Corp.
Officials believe his lengthy tenure at P&G prepares him well for a huge agency with management challenges in providing services to more 8 million veterans a year. At P&G, he oversaw more than 120,000 employees, with operations around the world, selling products in more than 180 countries.
MILITARY BACKGROUND
Having graduated in the top 2 percent of his class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, McDonald served in the U.S. Army as a captain, primarily in the 82nd Airborne Division, and received the Meritorious Service Medal.
"Bob is an immensely gifted and caring individual. That was evident to me when we first met as cadets at West Point, over 40 years ago," retired Major General James "Spider" Marks said in a statement. "He came from a military family, and knows the challenges from living them."
American Express Chief Executive Ken Chenault, who served on the P&G board during McDonald's time there, called McDonald a strong manager who knows how to make large organizations work effectively.
"Bob has a deep, personal commitment to serving our country that is as strong now as it was during his days at West Point. He's an excellent choice to set the right course for the Veterans Administration at a difficult time," Chenault said in a statement.
Corporate colleagues of McDonald repeatedly cited his management abilities in grappling with large and complex organizations.
"Prior to retirement, he navigated Procter and Gamble through the difficult post-financial-crisis years, where he expanded business in developing markets and made substantial progress improving the efficiency of the company's internal operations," Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said in a statement.
Xerox CEO Ursula Burns said McDonald had been on the Xerox board since 2005 and had provided expertise that was helpful during the company's 2010 acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services Inc, a deal that doubled Xerox' workforce and shifted its business.
The White House review, which was conducted by senior Obama aide Rob Nabors, said the agency's 14-day scheduling standard for new patients to receive care was arbitrary, ill-defined and misunderstood.
Obama accepted the findings on Friday by Nabors and acting Veterans Secretary Sloan Gibson, who said: "We can and must solve these problems as we work to earn back the trust of veterans."
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