All but a few of President Barack Obama’s core constituencies view the American economy negatively, according to a poll released Tuesday.
The latest New York Times/CBS News poll showed that a majority of Americans overall — 61 percent — believe the economy is still poor. But the economic outlook is quite a bit different for groups that helped Obama secure a second term.
From the Times:
Still, 61 percent regard the economy negatively, including a majority of all age and income levels, most independents and 80 percent of Republicans. Only among Democrats, people with a postgraduate education and blacks do a majority regard the economy as good.
The views among blacks are somewhat notable. While Obama won overwhelmingly among black voters in 2012, the group has consistently battled higher-than-average unemployment. The latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed unemployment among black Americans at 12.5 percent, higher than the overall unemployment rate of seven percent.
Republicans have sought to exploit the economic situation in the black community as part of their larger efforts to improve their standing with a voting group they have struggled mightily to win over.
The Republican National Committee in October hired Orlando Watson as its very own “Communications Director for Black Media,” and the spokesman took a shot at Obama’s record in the black community during a television appearance earlier this month.
“What I don’t find defensible is after five years of, you know, living under President Obama, you know, he has little to show for what he’s done for the black community,” Watson said, adding that the health care law has “particularly” hurt the jobless rate in the black community.
