NEW YORK – When Barack Obama took over the presidential seat in America in 2009, the whole world felt like it had the right to hope for a better tomorrow. Celebrations were held not only in America, but across the entire globe and the journalists coined the term “obamamania” to describe the madness Barack Obama caused by winning the American election. Fast forward two years later to 2011 and two things are clear: a single person, not even Obama, can’t save the entire world and the support for the President is wavering.
According to Amplicate data, Barack Obama has only 51 percent of positive opinions among social media users. The almost 48,000 positive opinions also put him first on the most hated modern day presidents chart, coming perhaps surprisingly so, even before George W. Bush. Even if Barack Obama started of as probably one of the most supported presidents of all times, the year that passed shows positive opinions about his presidency don’t come easy these days.
The most visible spike in collected positive opinions happened in May , when Barack Obama was touring the world. However all his television appearances were soon overshadowed by the news that recently put the world in the state of panic about America being on the verge of bankruptcy, and unable to move forward from the pat position created between the Congress and the President. In the months the American axes of power battled among themselves, support for Obama in the social media was out the window.
The big majority of social media users that hate Obama blame him for over-spending and accepting policies that don’t bring benefits to the majority of the American citizens. In the words of an Amplicate user: “Obama is an anti-freedom authoritarian whose policies are the same failed policies from the past many decades of more failure presidencies. The dollar is weak, our civil liberties are destroyed, and half the country is on Welfare. Thomas Jefferson is rolling in his grave right now.” On the other hand, supporters of Barack Obama believe he is a good and fair president who has just been unfortunate to become leader in the times when the country’s economy is not exactly stellar. “He inherited the worst economy in a generation and a discouraged populace. Despite this, he’s made great gains in expanding healthcare coverage, prosecuting corporate financial misdeeds, and restoring protections against pay discrimination against women. I think history will see him as a better president and give him more credit than do contemporary pundits,” says a pro-Obama Amplicate user.
If nothing else, the collected opinions show that being president of America doesn’t exactly win you friends.