Obama Ratings Sink As Trustworthiness Comes Into Question

… It’s a common presidential predicament, but it never looks good when a president’s aides rush to defend him from accusations of lying by saying he was unaware of all the circumstances.

“When you’ve got a choice between being duplicitous or out of touch, out of touch is probably better, but it’s a bad choice for presidents,” says Mary Stuckey, a Georgia State University professor who has written several books about presidential rhetoric. …

Obama’s frequent promises that people could stick with their doctors and insurance plans was a way of arguing that, although the status quo had to change, those who were happy with the way things were wouldn’t have to change. It may have been too clever by half.

“He was trying to thread the needle on an issue where people are incredibly risk-averse, says Brendan Nyhan, a government professor at Dartmouth College.

Having voters and the media grow increasingly skeptical is an almost inevitable aspect of the second-term blues for presidents, Nyhan says. CONT.

Alan Greenblatt, NPR News

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