Obama loses bin Laden bounce; Romney on the move among GOP contenders

[Denny Crane]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...gop-contenders/2011/06/06/AGT5wiKH_print.html

By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen, Published: June 6

The public opinion boost President Obama received after the killing of Osama bin Laden has dissipated, and Americans’ disapproval of how he is handling the nation’s economy and the deficit has reached new highs, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The survey portrays a broadly pessimistic mood in the country this spring as higher gasoline prices, sliding home values and a disappointing employment picture have raised fresh concerns about the pace of the economic recovery.

By 2 to 1, Americans say the country is pretty seriously on the wrong track, and nine in 10 continue to rate the economy in negative terms. Nearly six in 10 say the economy has not started to recover, regardless of what official statistics may say, and most of those who say it has improved rate the recovery as weak.

New Post-ABC numbers show Obama leading five of six potential Republican presidential rivals tested in the poll. But he is in a dead heat with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who formally announced his 2012 candidacy last week, making jobs and the economy the central issues in his campaign.

Among all Americans, Obama and Romney are knotted at 47 percent each, and among registered voters, the former governor is numerically ahead, 49 percent to 46 percent.

 

[julius]

good thing the election isn't this morning, and we have plenty of time for Romney to show just how stiffly boring he is, and how he can spin it that he's a hardcore conservative tea party person who accidentally was a socialist when he was governor.

Who let the dogs out. Who who who.

 

[Denny Crane]

I think I've seen that no president has been reelected with unemployment over 8%, and few democrats win reelection, period. Clinton was the only one since FDR and before FDR, Wilson was the previous one.

So the election may well be a referendum on Obama's handling of the economy and the wars, and any opponent who looks halfway competent would win.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Another story along the same lines: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43308329/ns/business-stocks_and_economy

It matters not who's President- when the economy is down the Prez has to take the hit. That said, I do think this President has been very detrimental to the economy. Not intentionally, of course. But his policies have been by & large abject failures. Some of those I approved of, but they still did not work. Unless the economy picture brightens, Obama may very well be a one term president.

 

[Denny Crane]

Looks like plagiarism to me. Compete the two articles...

 

[maxiep]

If James Carville's dictum turns out to be correct ("It's the Economy, Stupid"), then President Obama has no one else to blame for his predicament. He came into office with a massive Congressional majority and a wave of goodwill unmatched in recent history. He was given a $787B blank check to prime the economy. Rather than using it to jump start the economy or rebuild our infrastructure, he used it as a political slush fund to reward the folks that helped elect him. He could have done anything he wanted, and decided to waste a year on a fatally flawed takeover of our health care system that was unwanted then and even more reviled now. He has browbeat the private sector so much, they're afraid to invest because of the waves of regulation foisted upon them.

I'm sick and tired of hearing him complain about what he "inherited". He's one of those people I hate to be around; that only complains about what they don't have and refuses to see what they do. Almost everyone wanted him to succeed as the first black president. It would have done so much to salve the racial wounds of this country. He could have brought us all together, but has done nothing but drive us further apart. The only way he can win in 2012 is to create a scorched earth strategy of tearing down his opponent, because he has a scant record of achievement on which he can run. And I have no doubt he'll burn this country to the ground to ensure he has another four years.

The worst president of my lifetime and perhaps in the past 150 years.

 

[Shooter]

I do think this President has been very detrimental to the economy. Not intentionally, of course. But his policies have been by & large abject failures.

That's what happens when you elect a guy whose main accomplishment was being a "community organizer." He never ran a business, never oversaw a town or a state, and doesn't know crap about anything in the real world. He's just an ideologue who has been spoon-fed radical ideas by guys like Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright, and has no idea what the implications of those ideas would be on the economy and millions of regular Americans.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

If James Carville's dictum turns out to be correct ("It's the Economy, Stupid"), then President Obama has no one else to blame for his predicament. He came into office with a massive Congressional majority and a wave of goodwill unmatched in recent history. He was given a $787B blank check to prime the economy. Rather than using it to jump start the economy or rebuild our infrastructure, he used it as a political slush fund to reward the folks that helped elect him. He could have done anything he wanted, and decided to waste a year on a fatally flawed takeover of our health care system that was unwanted then and even more reviled now. He has browbeat the private sector so much, they're afraid to invest because of the waves of regulation foisted upon them.

I'm sick and tired of hearing him complain about what he "inherited". He's one of those people I hate to be around; that only complains about what they don't have and refuses to see what they do. Almost everyone wanted him to succeed as the first black president. It would have done so much to salve the racial wounds of this country. He could have brought us all together, but has done nothing but drive us further apart. The only way he can win in 2012 is to create a scorched earth strategy of tearing down his opponent, because he has a scant record of achievement on which he can run. And I have no doubt he'll burn this country to the ground to ensure he has another four years.

The worst president of my lifetime and perhaps in the past 150 years.

Well said. A very solid post.

 

[MARIS61]

I think I've seen that no president has been reelected with unemployment over 8%...

That's because Dems always leave us in such good shape it took Nixon, Reagan and Bush Jr 2 terms to fuck it up again.

So the election may well be a referendum on Obama's handling of the economy and the wars, and any opponent who looks halfway competent would win.

Thankfully, the Repugnants have nobody who looks halfway competent.

 

[MARIS61]

If James Carville's dictum turns out to be correct ("It's the Economy, Stupid"), then President Obama has no one else to blame for his predicament. He came into office with a massive Congressional majority and a wave of goodwill unmatched in recent history.

As the far-right proved, the goodwill of the people is worthless when an entire party turns it's back on it's citizens and stonewalls any and all progress simply as a manuever to regain office.

 

[barfo]

I'm sick and tired of hearing him complain about what he "inherited". He's one of those people I hate to be around; that only complains about what they don't have and refuses to see what they do.

Yeah, people who complain all the time are pretty tiresome, aren't they?

barfo

 

[barfo]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...gop-contenders/2011/06/06/AGT5wiKH_print.html

I was wondering when you'd post a poll again. It was almost like you lost your interest in polling these past few weeks. I'm glad you are feeling better now.

barfo

 

[Denny Crane]

I was wondering when you'd post a poll again. It was almost like you lost your interest in polling these past few weeks. I'm glad you are feeling better now.

barfo

The polls are basically about republicans vs. republicans (not so interesting) and Obama's job approval being mostly lower than his approval rating (not much fluctuation since republicans took the house).

 

[MARIS61]

He could have done anything he wanted, and decided to waste a year on a fatally flawed takeover of our health care system that was unwanted then and even more reviled now. He has browbeat the private sector so much, they're afraid to invest because of the waves of regulation foisted upon them.

I'm sick and tired of hearing him complain about what he "inherited". He's one of those people I hate to be around; that only complains about what they don't have and refuses to see what they do. Almost everyone wanted him to succeed as the first black president. It would have done so much to salve the racial wounds of this country. He could have brought us all together, but has done nothing but drive us further apart. The only way he can win in 2012 is to create a scorched earth strategy of tearing down his opponent, because he has a scant record of achievement on which he can run. And I have no doubt he'll burn this country to the ground to ensure he has another four years.

The worst president of my lifetime and perhaps in the past 150 years.

Quite the drama queen today.

 

[Denny Crane]

The polls are basically about republicans vs. republicans (not so interesting) and Obama's job approval being mostly lower than his approval rating (not much fluctuation since republicans took the house).

And, oh yeah, about how a huge majority of the people think things have been going in the wrong direction.

 

[Rhal]

Lets see if Romney stays at that % in a month.

 

[Shooter]

Lets see if Romney stays at that % in a month.

Let's see if Obama keeps dropping . . .

 

[barfo]

Let's see us argue over poll numbers for the next 17 months!

barfo

 

[BrianFromWA]

Let's see us argue over poll numbers for the next 17 months!

barfo

Changes we can actually believe in!

 

[BrianFromWA]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...gop-contenders/2011/06/06/AGT5wiKH_print.htmlnine in 10 continue to rate the economy in negative terms. .[/B]

Seems like one in ten people have no touch with reality.

 

[Denny Crane]

http://dailycaller.com/2011/06/06/c...-obama-says-civil-unrest-imminently-possible/

In an appearance on Monday’s “Imus in the Morning” on the Fox Business Network, the former Clinton adviser said that, based on the May jobs number, if the unemployment picture doesn’t improve, 2012 could be rough for the president.

“[L]ook, I don’t think anybody — if 54,000 new jobs is the new standard, it’s going to be a very, very rough 2012 for President Obama,” Carville said. “But the three-month average was 160,000. If that is the case, then he will do OK. I can’t tell you what will happen. But yes, if this, if this last jobs number is an indication of future job numbers, it’s going to be very, very rough.”

“It is going to be very difficult,” Carville said. “But the country, if that is what we are doing, this is gruesome on people. This unemployment rate for this long is a humanitarian crisis of the first magnitude. This financial crisis, people have studied this by the way, they know that the things take this long to work their way through. The aftermath of these things — kind of an academic book that is dry entitled ‘This Time is Different.’ What it concluded is that it is not different this time. They studied it, the aftermath of the financial crisis. What we are going through is imminently predictable. But this is a terrible thing that has happened to people’s lives. I think the president at one level understands that, you know. But he is limited in what he can do. So we’ll just have to see. But it’s going to be hard. If 54,000 jobs is the new norm — this is going to be very, very tough. Some people say it just might be one more thing. We don’t know.”

 

[maxiep]

It's Bush's fault!

http://dailycaller.com/2011/06/07/its-not-the-economy-its-you-says-obama/

LOL.

 

[Denny Crane]

Good news, barfo. Bob "O-fer" Shrum says Obama is on track to win a second term.

http://theweek.com/bullpen/column/216081/is-obamas-re-election-bid-really-in-trouble

 

[Denny Crane]

Watch the electoral map. Florida is looking like it's not going for Obama this time.

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0611/empty_seats_108717af-a6fd-4c08-b970-fe9b3eb2e4c4.html

Obama fundraiser underwhelms

MIAMI, Fla. -- A low-dollar fundraiser here Monday felt like a throwback to the 2008 campaign.

There was the same old soundtrack – including “City of Blinding Lights” by U2, the president’s 2008 anthem -- the enthusiastic organizers and the abundant appeals for supporters to rally behind President Obama.

The one missing element? Overflowing crowds.

Granted, it was a fundraiser, not a free rally. But the empty seats were hard to miss.

The top level of the 2,200-seat concert hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center for Performing Arts was entirely empty, as were the seats along the side of the second and third levels.

"The expectation was 900," a Democratic official said, and more than 980 tickets were sold.

 

[Denny Crane]

Pennsylvania, too. Pennsylvania and Florida combine for a 49 electoral vote swing.

http://content.usatoday.com/communi...bama-struggling-in-keystone-state-poll-says/1

Obama struggling in Keystone State, poll says

t's no secret that President Obama is on the downslope politically, and that includes the pivotal state of Pennsylvania.

A new poll from Susquehanna Polling and Research says that 48% of Pennsylvanians disapprove of Obama's performance, while 41% approve.

Also: Only 43% of registered voters in Pennsylvania say Obama has done well enough to deserve re-election, the poll said; 50% say " it is time to give a new person a chance."

Writes Jim Lee, president of Susquehanna Polling & Research:

"The fact that 1 in 2 voters are looking for someone else suggests that President Obama has little room to grow and that Pennsylvania will again be a toss-up state in next year's presidential election, particularly if the slow economic recovery continues to haunt the president."

Simply put, it's hard to see how Obama wins re-election without Pennsylvania.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

it could be close, but i bet obama has a few tricks up his sleeve for the next 17 months or so

 

[Denny Crane]

it could be close, but i bet obama has a few tricks up his sleeve for the next 17 months or so

Kill Bin Laden again in October (surprise!)

 

[maxiep]

it could be close, but i bet obama has a few tricks up his sleeve for the next 17 months or so

The "tricks" will be the most negative campaign ever run. That's your only strategy when you have a record of failure like this president.

 

[maxiep]

The key states are Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. Now if he loses Wisconsin, then it's a landslide against him.

 

[blazerboy30]

it could be close, but i bet obama has a few tricks up his sleeve for the next 17 months or so

Like what?

It seems he has had very little success during his presidency. He can't really focus on the good things he has accomplished.