CNN Poll Shows President Obama and George W. Bush at Same Level of Unpopularity

President Barack Obama (AP / Charles Dharapak)

It’s been a bad week for President Barack Obama.

His prisoner swap — five Taliban commanders for once-imprisoned Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl — has been intensely criticized. The Veterans Administration health care issue is still simmering. And economic reports may indicate more sluggishness, not the recovery Obama has long pined for.

Now CNN and its polling firm, ORC International, have found that Obama has tied President George W. Bush in unpopularity ratings.

The poll found 51 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of Obama, the same number for former Republican President George W. Bush. Only 47 percent of respondents have a favorable view of Obama, as opposed to 46 for Bush.

It may be a surprise for Obama. Obama won, after all, in 2008 as a result of Bush’s perceived failure on the economy that year. The Iraq War was also unpopular, and voters were eager for withdrawal.

Obama claims to have given the people recovery and peace in Iraq. But radical Islamic fighters now threaten Baghdad, and Obama has made a few domestic missteps.

Click here to continue reading…

SOURCE: Jim Stinson | jstinson@al.com 
AL.com