Opinion: Poll: Obama’s team doesn’t help his popularity at all -- and Pelosi hurts

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A new Harris Poll reveals that no one in President Obama’s Cabinet and administration is helping his strong popularity ratings at all.

In fact, instead of Obama’s 60+% popularity being bolstered by colleagues, the Great Change Agent is carrying most of the favorability factor on his own shoulders.

If his figures ever slip, there’s not much below to support him. On the other hand, for now there’s no competition for publicity.

And while Vice President Joe ‘To Be Safe Don’t Go Anywhere Near Anyone Who’s Breathing’ Biden isn’t any help, House Speaker Nancy ‘Maybe I Wasn’t Really Listening When They Lied to Me’ Pelosi of California is the most unpopular of all.

The new online poll of 2,681 American adults taken last month shows that after eight years of the well-known Evil Crowd, many on Obama’s team are not only not well-known, they’re little-known. Almost unknown.

(Psst. This may be how The Boss wants it.)

Only Pelosi (66%), Biden (69%) and Secretary of State Hillary ‘Shame on You, Barack Obama’ Clinton (83%) are known to most Americans.

While Treasury Secretary Timothy ‘Not Paying Taxes to One of the Departments I Now Run Was an Inadvertent Mistake’ Geithner enjoys 16% positive opinions, fully 26% feel negatively about him. And 59% don’t really have an opinion about the guy.

Pelosi has by far the worst ratings, more than 2 to 1 against -- 21% positive to 45% negative.

In Biden’s case, 32% positive feelings, but 36% negative.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has nearly 2-to-1 positive ratings -- 28% positive to 15% negative. But despite being an Evil Crowd holdover, 57% have never heard of him.

Only 17% have not heard of Clinton, but those who have break 50%-33% positive-negative.

‘None of his colleagues do much to help him politically,’ the Harris commentary notes. ‘Some commentators have written about the supposed strength of his team and his cabinet members. The public does not share this enthusiasm. And Nancy Pelosi is a political liability.’

Other than that, it’s seen as a very strong Obama administration team.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photos, from top: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images; Associated Press.