Obama’s 60 Percent Approval: Will it Stay?

Within the last couple weeks, President Obama’s approval rating has soared up to 60 percent after the slaying of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan during Operation Neptune Spear. The Huffington Post reports that 73 percent of Americans think that Obama is capable of handling terrorist threats.

Will the President’s approval rating stay high, or will it drop? Two Wiltonians, the Chair of the Democratic Town Committee, John Kalamarides, and the Chair of the Republican Town Committee, Al Alper, talked with Patch about the President’s newly-found popularity.

“He has a high approval rating primarily because of what has come of the Middle East as of late. It will decline,” said Alper.

“Gas prices in particular are brutal. The long term approval rating is not sustainable in light of his energy and economic policies,” Alper said. “The economy and energy [policies] will gradually drive him back to the low 40s and maybe even in the 30s.”

Alper also questioned the President's dichotomy of policy on torture and execution.

“Even though i give him big credit for killing bin Laden, and I support [his execution], I continue to wrestle with the incongruousness of what [Obama] did: He won't waterboard, but he'll execute somebody. That doesn't make sense. If you shoot [Osama’s] wife in the leg you can shoot bin Laden in the leg. With that being said, you've shot an unarmed man. [Information gathered from] waterboarding was part of the mosaic that lead to his capture,” said Alper.

From the Left, Kalamarides had a more optimistic view of the President’s popularity boom.

“I think it's in reaction to the bin Laden affair, and his pledge to come through to kill the man,” said Kalamarides.

“I think Obama is very underrated for what he has done. At 60, his approval. rating is where it should be,” said Kalamarides.  “I wouldn't be surprised that in the future it continues to stay high given what he is going to be doing with congress and international affairs,” he said.