Disillusioned Obama voters reconsider | New Hampshire OPINION01

Disillusioned Obama voters reconsider | New Hampshire OPINION01

In the 2008 general election, Sen. Barack Obama was an inspiration to many Granite Staters who had grown disillusioned with the Republican Party politics of the George W. Bush era. Four years later, many of the voters who turned to Obama with hope in their hearts have felt that hope turn once again into disillusionment.

The poll data bear this out. As the University of New Hampshire’s Granite State Poll shows, President Obama’s lead in New Hampshire has fallen from 10 points in January to three points this month. That trend was noted in a Monday New York Times story that contained an interview with a New Hampshire woman named Dawn who expressed very well the disappointment of so many Obama voters, like herself, in this state.

“Obama is not on my real popular list,” she said. “I think Obamacare is ridiculous. A lot of things that were based on good intentions get messed up.”

She added, “Obama is not off the hook with me. Do I think it’s wise to spend tons of money on stimuluses and stimuluses? No.”

Dawn is no Republican stalwart. She voted for Obama because she believed he would fix the things he said he would fix. He promised pragmatism, not politics as usual. Now she sees, as do so many others, that the promises were empty.

A Gallup poll released on Monday showed that 56 percent of swing-state voters in this year’s presidential election say they are not better off than they were four years ago. A majority, 52 percent, said President Obama has not “done as well as could be expected when dealing with the economy.” The poll covered 12 swing states, including New Hampshire.