JAY COST: Does Obama Really Believe He’s Still Popular? “Don’t all presidents suffer declining popularity? Not all of them, but most of them do. Still, Obama so far has been one of the less popular presidents since World War II. . . . I’m not making a point here about Obama’s reelection prospects, as Reagan and Clinton both bounced back and won solid victories. Instead, I want to highlight his unpopularity to suggest that the White House has demonstrated a shocking level of political incompetence. . . . Either he and his team don’t realize that the bottom has dropped out, so they don’t know that they need to change strategies, or they do realize it but haven’t come up with any alternatives. My money is on the former – he and his team haven’t figured it out yet.”