'It's his failed policies': Article quoting Obama claims approval drop due to racial animus; Guffaws ensue

Doug P. | 8:35 PM on January 19, 2014

In an interview with The New Yorker, President Obama is quoted as agreeing that “racial animus,” as Bloomberg News worded it in their headline, may be holding down his approval rating:

Racism to blame for drop in my approval ratings, says guy with 98% African-American approval ratings http://t.co/feP7G3TMM2

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) January 19, 2014

Bloomberg News: Obama Says Racial Animus Blunts Approval, New Yorker Reports. http://t.co/OFzXN4oBb3

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 19, 2014

Here’s the full quote from the The New Yorker article:

Obama lost among white voters in 2012 by a margin greater than any victor in American history. The popular opposition to the Administration comes largely from older whites who feel threatened, underemployed, overlooked, and disdained in a globalized economy and in an increasingly diverse country. Obama’s drop in the polls in 2013 was especially grave among white voters. “There’s no doubt that there’s some folks who just really dislike me because they don’t like the idea of a black President,” Obama said. “Now, the flip side of it is there are some black folks and maybe some white folks who really like me and give me the benefit of the doubt precisely because I’m a black President.” The latter group has been less in evidence of late.

Obama’s approval rating has fallen from the high 60’s at the beginning of his presidency to the low 40’s, according to Gallup. Could job performance be the chief cause of that approval drop?