FINAL RAS FOR 2009 – AT 9:48 A.M. ET:  Rasmussen has just published his final tracker for 2009.  They will not want to give this to the president just before a big Hawaiian dinner:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 24% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-two percent (42%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -18 (see trends). Twenty-nine percent (29%) now say the country is heading in the right direction.

Happy New Year, Mr. President.

Overall, 46% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. At the time of his Inauguration, the President’s approval rating was at 61%.

Fifty-three percent (53%) now disapprove.

COMMENT:   It's been pointed out before that no president in modern history has suffered the loss of support that Mr. Obamas has.  What is troubling to Obama supporters is that there doesn't seem to be anything on the horizon to reverse the trend. 

I noted a couple of days ago that the president doesn't seem to like his job very much.  These numbers will not help the alienation.  The notion of a one-term presidency, which would have seemed a joke a year ago, is starting to seem a possibility.  That is speculation, of course, but it's so much fun. 

The eager footsteps the president hears behind him belong to the secretary of state. 

December 31, 2009