Blacks, Hispanics, Youth abandoning Obama

washingtonexaminer.com ^ | JULY 15, 2013 | bY PAUL BEDARD

Feeling let down by a president they once had high expectations for, blacks, Hispanics and younger voters are starting to give up on President Obama.
Pollster John Zogby told Secrets that his latest poll found a big drop in support for the president among the three key constituencies who feel that Obama hasn't delivered the results he promised in his reelection campaign. "These three groups all have high expectations and feel a sense of ownership because of their strong support," the pollster said. "He is losing some of the strength he once enjoyed among groups that have formed the nucleus of his coalition."
Consider the results from the latest Zogby Analytics poll of 919 likely voters taken July 12-13. While Obama won 61 percent of the youth vote in 2012, only 46 percent approve of his job as president. He won with 71 percent of Hispanics and 93 percent of African Americans, but now stands at 68 percent and 84 percent respectively.
Zogby said that Hispanics are nervous about immigration reform and want the president to do more to make good on his promise to grant amnesty to 11 million illegal immigrants. "While the White House and fellow Democrats prefer the president lay back and not rev up opposition by campaigning, Hispanics want him out there," said Zogby.
For blacks, said the pollster, "they thought he would be able to do so much more."
And younger voters are feeling the pain of higher interest rates on college loans and don't like the National Security Agency spying scandal. "For young people, the failure to stop the rise of student loan rates and the NSA revelations weigh in heavily," said Zogby.
Despite the drop in support among key groups, Zogby said that the president still holds "considerable juice," and stands in the latest poll at an evenly split 49 percent approval-49 percent disapproval.