Critical Thinkers here at Truth and Sense do not put much value upon polls and approval ratings. Without even going into their accuracy, their importance is suspect as well. Critical Thinkers do not need to see what other people supposedly think in order to formulate a stance on an issue. Critical Thinkers use attention to detail and logical analysis as two of their major tools. 

Nevertheless, one must wonder what people such as President Obama – and those like him that put so much importance in what people think about him – must be thinking about his plummeting job approval ratings. Using third-party polls as the basis of your position usually leads to bad policy and then often, the politically fatal flip-flop. When then-Presidential-candidate John Kerry said  “I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it,” he seemed to wonder why every single voter from both sides of that issue could not be satisfied with him and his position(s).

Is President Obama frustrated that there is so much resistance to his plan for socialised medicine when after all – he offers the prospect of something for nothing? Sure, he likely has been willing to sacrifice the votes of those few whom he claims will be the only ones paying for the plan, but surely everyone else must love it, right? Perhaps people realize that there is no such thing as “something for nothing”. Perhaps people realize that even if you promise that only some faceless and nameless “evil rich” minority of Americans will be forced to pay the higher taxes, soon everybody will be paying more and more while getting less and less. Perhaps people do not want Big Government running yet another aspect of their lives. Or perhaps Americans by and large do not seek “something for nothing.” We may never know.

Does President Obama do things based on what he calculates will get him the most approval? Did he publicly insult the arresting officer of refusing-to-show-ID-to- the-police Henry Gates on the hopes that it would boost his Presidential Approval polls?

The big question is this. Does the President make policy based on his own principles, morals, Critical Thinking and analysis? Or does he base his course on his perception of the opinions of others? If he really thinks that socialised medicine is right for America, then may he fight for what he thinks is right. If he is merely trying to be popular though, he will wind up with muddled policy and incoherent positions and may well find that people like these things least of all.