A Muslim President, After All

Hispanics, blacks and others among President Obama’s base may be abandoning him, but Muslims are holding fast. Apparently, theirs is a special bond born of shared interests.

When Barack Hussein Obama first stepped into office in January 2009, he had 92% approval among blacks, 75% approval among Hispanics and 58% approval among whites, according to Gallup.

Since then, his monthly approval has dropped eight points among blacks, 27 points among Hispanics and 25 points among whites.

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Polls show Obama also has lost ground with independents, while young people have cooled off on him.

He is losing much of his 2008 base of voters with one notable exception: Muslim-Americans. They remain exceedingly loyal to the president. In fact, their enthusiasm for Obama has swelled.

Last month, Pew Research Center released a survey of U.S. Muslims that was almost universally overlooked. It found that Muslims overwhelmingly approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president. Fully three-quarters (76%) favor him, compared with just 46% of the general public.

President Bush, in contrast, garnered a lowly 15% approval rating among Muslim-Americans. “Muslim-Americans clearly see a friend in Obama,” Pew said in its report.

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