U.S. President Barack Obama signs three bills into law on the Resolute Desk inside the Oval Office at the White House November 27, 2013 in Washington, DC. Obama signed S. 252, the Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early Reauthorization Act or the "PREEMIE Reauthorization Act"; H.R. 1848, the Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013; and H.R. 3204, the Drug Quality and Security Act . UPI/Chip Somodevilla/Pool |
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WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- With his job approval rating hovering around 40 percent, U.S. President Barak Obama told Barbara Walters he's confident of a comeback.
An ABC-Washington Post poll released last week found the president's approval rating at an all-time low of 42 percent, down 13 percent from January when he began his second term. His job approval was down 6 percent in the last month following the faulty rollout of the heathcare.gov website and revelations of the extent National Security Agency surveillance programs.
"I've gone up and down pretty much consistently throughout," Obama told Walters in a White House interview set for broadcast Friday evening on a special edition of ABC's "20/20." "But the good thing about when you're down is that usually you got nowhere to go but up," he said.
Recent polls indicate Obama is also at career lows for leadership, honesty and trustworthiness, and understanding the problems of average Americans.
Obama was excoriated for his pledge that all Americans who like their current heathcare plan could keep their policies, a proposition that proved untrue for plans that didn't meet requirements of the Affordable Care Act. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has said the glitch-plagued website that went live Oct. 1 should be working as promised by week's end.
"I continue to believe that [I'm] absolutely convinced that at the end of the day, people are going to look back at the work we've done to make sure that in this country, you don't go bankrupt when you get sick. That families have the security," the president said.
Obama noted approval ratings for President George W. Bush were about the same at the same point in his presidency and said he was glad he had time to restore the nation's trust during his second term.
"I got re-elected in part because people did think I was trustworthy and they knew I was working on their behalf," he said. "Very rarely are the good things that happen get[ting] the same attention as the things that aren't working so well."
