FedSmith.com Users Say Country is Moving in the Wrong Direction

FedSmith.com users said in a recent survey that they believe the United States is currently moving in the wrong direction and generally disapproved of the president’s performance during his tenure so far in office.

The president recently addressed Congress and the nation in his state of the union speech. With that recent event in mind, we asked our readers what they thought of the president’s performance and their opinion about the state of the country now that we are midway through the president’s second term in office.

As one might expect, the topic generated many responses and strong opinions from people on both sides of the political aisle.

The general theme that emerged in the over 3,000 survey responses though indicated the majority of respondents, who classified themselves as politically independent, feel that the country is moving in the wrong direction. The vast majority of respondents also said they disapprove of the president’s performance so far during his time in office.

A summary of the responses to the survey questions follows below.

Which term best describes your opinion on the current position of the United States?

Hopeful 4.89%
Divided 14.19%
Strong 2.08%
Troubled 13.32%
Deteriorating 39.55%
Recovering 5.21%
Broken 20.77%

How do you feel about how President Obama will do in the remainder of his term?

Satisfied and hopeful 10.42%
Uncertain and wondering 11.82%
Pessimistic and worried 68.40%
Optimistic and confident 7.92%
Not sure 1.44%

How do you think the United States is progressing?

We are on the right track 20.51%
We are moving in the wrong direction 79.49%

How would you rate how President Obama has performed in office?

Approve 21.53%
Disapprove 74.86%
Not sure 3.61%

How would you characterize your political affiliation?

Republican 19.97%
Democrat 16.65%
Independent 52.91%
Other 10.48%

Respondents also felt strongly about the topic with numerous comments coming from both sides of the political divide. A random sampling of some of the comments follows below.

  • President Obama thinks there is unlimited amounts of money. If there isn’t he just raises the debt ceiling. He is always traveling, acting like a celebrity instead of running our country.
  • I pray every day that things will get better for President Obama and they will. Just keep the faith and stay on the right track things are going to work out at the end for the better. He is good for the people. He will make it. Stay strong.
  • President Obama stands up for what he believes. Health Care legislation is new and we should have expected it will need to go through changes. If I was asked how I feel about congress (mostly republican representatives and senate), I would say I am very disappointed (especially with the speaker of the house). I will not vote for anyone who let the Federal employees be furloughed. This was a ridiculous, useless, expenditure. Even though I was a republican, I voted for Obama twice and would do it again if he could run. He has principles.
  • This President has put us $17T in debt. How are we going to pay it back? We never authorized one penny of his reckless spending. Congress never had the chance to vote on it! He’s leading us into a Socialist state, and our children’s children’s children will be paying it off for the rest of their lives!
  • The President can only do so much with a cantankerous opposition in control of the House. Big money is creating an ever increasing divide in our country, and that concerns me more than anything. The “voter rights” shenanigans concerns me deeply—-we are fast moving backwards to only rich, landholding white men having the vote. Why are so many people willing to give up on democracy!!!!
  • Obama has spent more time threatening when things don’t go his way and has increased the division among races and social classes, than ANY president in many decades. I would rate is performance as a “F” for failure!
  • The president has acted like a spoiled child. My way or no way. We can’t move forward with a president and congress in this mode. They should be working together for the betterment of the people, not having a power struggle.
  • One of my main concerns is President Obama’s disregard of the Federal government’s balance of powers as demonstrated by his usurpation of Congress’ legislative authority. I blame Congress just as much for their acceptance of his actions.
  • Even though I have differing political views I really thought this president would be a uniter and had that potential, but has done everything to divide, both financially and racially. There is no regard for the constitution and the separation of powers as his administration will go around Congress to fullfil their agenda with no regard whether the people approve or not.
  • In his SOTU, the President talks about improving the standing of the middle class, yet he does provide federal workers a pay raise for three years and then just 1% this year when the private sector was providing raises of from 3 to 6% during the same four year period. Plus he continues to cut good federal jobs for new graduates, and there is work to be done. He has unfortunately turned out to be more rhetoric than substance.
  • I do not approve of the antics of the Republicans, particularly the Tea Partiers, to obstruct progress. Their viewpoints are not the majority of the US, but they have engineered a stranglehold on the legislative process that is causing harm to the country. I can only hope that the upcoming election will remove them from office and we get representatives who are more informed and rational.
  • It isn’t the president that this country has a problem with, it’s our DO NOTHING Congress. We should vote EVERY incumbent out of office at the next election. Then we should enact TERM LIMITS for our Senators and Representatives! Some of these guys and ladies have been in office so long they’ve lost touch with reality and the American public.
  • Our forefathers wisely established the separation of powers because they had experienced the tyranny of a king, and they knew imperialism was not the best system. What President Obama is proclaiming he will do by “side-stepping” Congress with Exec Orders is wrong and divisive, and his changing statutory requirements by fiat flies in the face of the rule of law.
  • Shame on those Republicans and few Democrats who seem to think more about their jobs than America…they have forgotten their oath of office.
  • We truly need a governing office for the people (not one party or the other or special interest favors), by the people (honest elections, one vote per eligible citizen with accountability measures ensuring no fraud), of the people (Senate and Congress abide by the same laws, rules, regulations as all other federal employees (i.e., no paycheck for life, no insider trading, no affiliation with vendors whom they can make decisions about, etc.))
  • It seems that the only thing that matters is what TV says is “politically correct” – what real Americans thinks mean nothing! We need an intellectual revolution.

Our thanks to all readers who took the time to participate in this survey and a special thanks to those who submitted their written views on the subject.

About the Author

Ian Smith is one of the co-founders of FedSmith.com. He has over 20 years of combined experience in media and government services, having worked at two government contracting firms and an online news and web development company prior to his current role at FedSmith.