One-Quarter of President Barack Obama's Supporters Defect to GOP Over Economy, Unemployment

Many of President Barack Obama's supporters, one quarter to be exact, are running to the other side -- the GOP. It is shocking to see how fast his core supporters have turned on him. I voted for Barack Obama in the presidential election, but I wasn't as starry-eyed as many of his supporters were. I preferred Hillary Clinton because I felt she would have brought more to the table, but I wouldn't be caught dead voting for John McCain and Caribou Barbie, Sarah Palin, so I was happy to vote for him and celebrate his historic ascent to the presidency. Either President Obama hoodwinked us into thinking we could really believe in the "change" he touted or he was just caught in a bad place -- a crumbling economy, massive job losses and an unending foreclosure cycle, all occurring under the GOP's watch.

I am not so sure John McCain, if he had prevailed in the general elections in 2008, would have been able to fix this mess. Still, I am a little disillusioned with the president, primarily because he has come across as vacillating on key issues, such as "don't ask, don't tell," a foreclosure moratorium that should stick, inability to stem job losses, a largely ineffective foreign policy (though Condoleeza Rice has given him thumbs up), a sputtering economy and musical chairs in his administration. So, on that basis, I am one supporter who is slowly drifting away from the Democratic Party to being an independent. Albeit a centrist one.

The upcoming November 2, 2010, elections will be nothing short of interesting. According to a recent Associated Press-Knowledge Networks poll, one-quarter of the president's supporters are defecting to the GOP, the same GOP that gave former President George W. Bush a rubber stamp that led us down this treacherous slope. So, I am not so sure they would be the party to pull us out of this muck.

I will poll my vote on November 2, for Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat, because Nathan Deal's financial mess weighs heavily on my mind. If he can't handle his finances in an ethical manner, then how can we trust him to do the same with the state of Georgia that has one of the highest unemployment and foreclosure rates in the country? I will not vote for Michael Thurmond, the Democratic candidate for the Senate. I have yet to hear one of his speeches or even see a serious advertisement on television. I will be voting for Johnny Isakson, a Republican. I could go on and on. President Obama needs to get tough and let the chips fall where they may. I voted for change, "change we can believe in." "Not bullsh*t we can believe in," which is basically what the Democrats have been handing us since they had a majority in Congress.

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