By Bill O'Reilly
As I mentioned last week, some are calling for the President to be impeached. So I asked a Fox News polling people, it's a scientific poll, to form a question about impeachment. Results came in last night: 36 percent favor impeaching Barack Obama, 61 percent do not.
Now, the reason a majority of Americans rejects an impeachment spectacle because they know it hurts the country. There is no compelling evidence to support that drastic legal action. He would never be convicted. When President Clinton got into trouble with Monica Lewinski a CBS News poll have 45 percent of Americans favoring impeachment, 53 percent against. That was October '98 the president was impeached and acquitted.
Impeachment is a last resort mechanism. And although President Obama is having trouble most Americans believe impeachment would be an overreaction that would damage the country.
But there is no question that the President is under pressure. On every major issue the folks disapprove of his performance. Healthcare: 54 percent disapprove, 41 percent approve. Economy: 57 percent disapprove, 40 percent say ok. Foreign policy: 56 percent disapprove, 36 percent approve. Immigration: 58 percent disapprove, 34 percent approve. Finally on how the President is handling the current border crisis involving children: approve just 31 percent, disapprove 56 percent.
So you can see Barack Obama has lost the folks, at least Americans who evaluate things in a fair way. There will always be zealots on both sides who vote their ideology or skin color or whatever.
"Talking Points" believes President Obama's current problems are being exacerbated -- word of the day "exacerbated" -- by his demeanor. As we have been reporting, he seems disengaged, apathetic even arrogant at times. When he speaks about the border or the Middle East or Putin, he meanders, doesn't seem authoritative.
So the perception even in some Democratic precincts is that Mr. Obama has lost his ability to deal with problems effectively. An interesting question on the Fox News poll was this. Does Barack Obama even want to be president anymore? 52 percent say yes, but 41 percent of Americans thinks he has had enough. And that may be true.
From the President's point of view he believes he is being treated unfairly by the Republican House. And that the media, which once adored him is not giving him enough support these days. The President is not the kind of guy who rallies the troops. He's not Knute Rockne or George Patton or rather he's an academic, a consensus seeker.
Well, there is consensus now. Majority of Americans believe President Obama is failing in his job.
And that's "The Memo."
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