Below The Beltway

Three new polls make clear what I noted yesterday; Barack Obama’s political capital is disappearing quickly.

First, the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that Obama has lost ground personally, and in support for his health care reform plan:

WASHINGTON – Despite his public-relations blitz over the past two weeks to promote his plans to reform the nation’s health-care system — including holding two town halls on Wednesday — President Barack Obama has lost ground on this issue with the American public, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Pluralities now say that the president’s health care plan is a bad idea, and that it will result in the quality of their care getting worse. What’s more, just four in 10 approve of his handling on the issue.

The poll also finds that Obama’s overall job-approval rating has dropped to 53 percent. And it shows a public that has grown increasingly concerned about the federal government’s spending as the administration defends its $787 billion economic stimulus and supports a $1 trillion-plus health-care bill.

The new CBS News/New York Times poll has similar bad news for the Administration:

President Obama’s ability to shape the debate on health care appears to be eroding as opponents aggressively portray the effort as a government takeover that could limit Americans’ ability to chose their doctors and course of treatment, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Americans are concerned that overhauling the health care system would reduce the quality of their care, increase their out-of-pocket health costs and tax bills and limit their options in choosing doctors, treatments and tests, the poll found. The percentage who describe health care costs as a serious threat to the American economy — a central argument made by Mr. Obama — has dropped over the past month.

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Mr. Obama’s job approval rating has dropped 10 points, to 58 percent, from a high point in April.

And despite his efforts — in speeches, news conferences, town-hall-style meetings and other forums — to address public misgivings, 69 percent of respondents in the poll said they were concerned that the quality of their own care would decline if the government created a program that covers everyone.

Finally, yesterday’s Gallup tracking poll puts Obama’s approval numbers at their lowest level yet:

Given these numbers, it may turn out that the failure to get a health care reform vote before August will be seen as the biggest mistake of Obama’s first year in office, if not his first term.