(Community Matters) Lawrence D. Bobo, the W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard
There is almost no difference between Obama’s current approval rating and that endured by Clinton in 1994, with both at roughly 45 percent approval. The bigger difference between now and then — between Obama’s standing and that of Clinton — is that 40 percent of voters thought the country was headed in “the right direction” under Clinton in 1994, but only 32 percent said so going into this year’s elections, according to an October CBS News Poll.
The difference here is the state of economy. To wit, this election is not a repudiation of a liberal agenda run amok or of an Obama administration out of touch with the American people. It is a loud declaration of deep disappointment with the weak and uneven pace of the economic recovery after a catastrophic economic downturn. . . . That Massachusetts provided only bad news for Republicans is instructive for Democrats in general, and Obama in particular. . . . So the 2010 midterms were a setback for Democrats. Let’s remember that this outcome was completely foreseeable in light of the economy.
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