So, as President Obama’s job approval slides, what becomes increasingly interesting is that his personal popularity remains relatively static in the high 50%.  In viewing this apparent discrepancy, I think there are some strikingly important concepts and extrapolations that can be drawn.

First, it is that Obama’s job approval rating is in sliding not because Barack Obama’s policies are viewed as bad, but because of his inability to accomplish them in a timely manner. Obviously healthcare is the greatest example of this, where Obama allowed the Finance Committee to serve as his primary carrier in the Senate (in the hopes of getting a “bipartisan” bill).  In so doing, he allowed Republicans to drag out the debate over such a long timeline that it has made healthcare legislation the longest single bill to exist on the floor of Congress. As FiveThirtyEight.com points out here, after each health reform passed each house of congress, there was a small bump in polls. I think the eventual analysis that Mr. Silver is right, if perhaps lacking in nuance.

The second thing I think the discrepancy shows is Obama’s ability to communicate his job performance. This is a President who averted the second coming of the Great Depression, passed equal pay for women regulations, scaled back massive intrusions of privacy to US citizens, fought the military industrial complex and won, started a highly lauded education program, has made significant breakthrough in courting the international community including and especially India, and has been able to successfully accelerate the drawdown in Iraq. But ask the common man what he has done, and I imagine the answer will be closer to some sort of distortion of socialism then these ideas.

The Obama administration needs to learn t0o communicate, and pass healthcare, and then fry the Republican party on Financial Reform. If they can do that, they will do more to protect the Democratic majority than any “batten down the hatches” strategy can.