Gloria Borger On Obama’s Collapsing Poll Numbers: He Must ‘Speak More,’ ‘Lead’ Debate On NSA Scandal

On Monday, CNN/ORC released a poll showing President Barack Obama’s approval rating down sharply over the last month as a variety of scandals and controversies involving his administration have dominated the news. CNN Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger told anchor Suzanne Malveaux that it was her opinion that the public is saying that Obama has not led on the issue and he needs to “speak more” about issues like the National Security Agency’s communications monitoring programs.

A new CNN/ORC poll shows Obama’s approval rating dropping sharply from 53 percent in May to 45 percent today — the lowest job approval rating for the president in 18 months.

Asked if this drop in his approval rating will have any impact on Obama’s ability to pursue his second term agenda, Borger answered, “these things always do.”

RELATED: CNN’s John King Blames Obama Poll Numbers On NSA ‘Tapping’ Phone Calls And ‘Reading Emails’

“He didn’t expect to have these problems on his hands,” Borger added. “I mean, who would have thought that the constitutional scholar, the man who came in

against the war, would have to be dealing with the question of arming the rebels in Syria, drones, NSA surveillance, leaks, and all these kinds of issues.”

“What our poll shows, Suzanne, is that he’s down an astonishing 17 points with younger voters,” she continued. “If you’re sitting in the White House right now and you’re looking at these numbers, I wonder if you’re thinking, perhaps, that this is a president who needs to come out and speak a little more about these issues to the American people and explain why he’s done what he’s done.”

The CNN/ORC poll also revealed that only 35 percent approve of how Obama has responded to the news of the NSA’s surveillance programs. 61 percent of the poll’s respondents said that they disapprove.

“I think what this number reflects is that people don’t really – haven’t heard enough from the president about why he’s doing what he’s doing,” Borger reacted. She said that Obama had already said that the country should have a debate over privacy concerns versus security-related necessities. Borger observed that the public is saying that the president should lead that debate.

Watch the clip below via CNN:

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