From Gallup:

The latest round of Gallup polls shows less than 40% of Americans approve of President Obama’s job performance . Polling data for October 16-18 shows the President’s approval rating at 39% and disapproval at 53%. President Obama had previously dipped to 38% approval during the polling periods of October 4-6 and October 11-13, but a trend is emerging. (more…)

In recent years the attitude against incumbents has dramatically increased. According to a 2011 Gallup poll, 63% of Americans believe most members of Congress do not deserve to be re-elected. This percentage went from 52 in 2007 to 65 in 2010.

This feeling only escalates during times of budget crises, which is exactly what we are in now. Although people elected Republicans to stand strong against spending and tax increases, their support stops when conflict begins. Common belief is both parties are just sticking to party platforms in order to prove a political point. This is not the case. They were sent there to get America back on the right track and that is exactly what they are trying to do. We all knew this wouldn’t be easy and it wouldn’t be fast.

There cannot be a compromise on the budget. Half of a bad thing is still a bad thing. This is an ideological battle. Do we want politicians who just “get along”, or do we want leaders that will represent the views of every day Americans? It is our job as voters to vote out the bad politicians, but we also need to use discernment and keep in politicians who will stand by their values.

You cannot just vote out every incumbent, every time.

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A picture’s worth a thousand opinions as Gallup compiles Americans’ view of the federal government thusly:

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At the same time Gallup has released numbers that Americans believe the country’s moral outlook is bleak, another D.C. type has been taken down by sex — or, more accurately, the hypocrisy of having sex when running on moral rectitude. The Washington Examiner’s inimitable Nate Beeler has a humorous cartoon running right now:

Of course, the seemingly endless cavalcade of polticians caught in flagrante delecto isn’t the capital’s only love affair with cross-dressing politics in tones of morality. It’s almost always the moralists who will try to ruin the lives of others by claims of moral failure, right before their own lingerie-covered skeletons come tumbling out of the closet.

This is especially a concern for advocates of limited government, and it forces a tough moment to recognize that we have to defend our values through logic, rather than through the law. Many in Washington love to demand government that is just small enough to fit under the doorway of our bedrooms. Take, for instance, the Department of Justice prosecution persecution in D.C. this summer against a mainstream pornographer. Reason has the story:

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What happens in economic lean times? It helps clarify the mind on how we spend scarce resources and, in particular, it forces us to reconsider costly “feel good” environmentalist policies.

So it’s not entirely surprising to get the news from Gallup that “Americans are more likely to say the U.S. should prioritize development of energy supplies than to say it should prioritize protecting the environment, the first time more have favored energy production over environmental protection in this question’s 10-year history.”

Here’s the graphical evidence:

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… at least that’s what the latest Gallup numbers would suggest: “Socialism Viewed Positively by 36% of Americans”

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We’ve been discussing the Democrats’ scheme to shift to a regulatory agenda. Gallup says that might not meet with much approval, as “Americans Leery of Too Much Gov’t Regulation of Business.”

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In a Gallup poll released this week, more than half of those surveyed said the government has gone too far:

Americans are more likely today than in the recent past to believe that government is taking on too much responsibility for solving the nation’s problems and is over-regulating business. New Gallup data show that 57% of Americans say the government is trying to do too many things that should be left to businesses and individuals, and 45% say there is too much government regulation of business. Both reflect the highest such readings in more than a decade.

The biggest question is whether or not those pulling the strings in Washington will take note and tone it down a notch. My guess is that they will do all they can within the pre-election season window, and then start focusing back on the polls once we get closer to November 2010.

But let’s get back to the question. Has the government “done too much?” On George Stephanopoulos’ show last Sunday, President Obama shrugged off a question about those who question his policies,  saying, “My critics say everything’s a tax increase. My critics say that I’m taking over every sector of the economy.”

Cato’s David Boaz did a little digging and found that, well, technically, the president is telling the truth. He’s not taking over the entire economy. No, only “health care, energy, local schools, banks, insurance companies, automobile, companies, compensation at financial firms, newspapers and the Internet.”

What, too much?