Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Obama "uh ohs"...
Here's the first time I've seen this said about Obama's effect on other candidates...
Poll-wise, Obama's approval rating is down to 51% from 70% six months ago. And his good news/bad news is: "good news", he's leading his hypothetical leading Republican challengers in 2012; "bad news" he's pulling less than 50% against them and they won't start campaigning for another two years.
All quite a change from just months ago, when Obama and his Democratic minions had ushered in America the Liberal, the new Permanent Democratic Majority, and so cut off the Republicans at the knees that conservative pundits could only discouragedly ponder their dismal future and wonder how they could ever learn to walk again.
A short time is a long time in politics.
[N.J. Democratic governor] Corzine's support continues to slip, with just 36 percent in the latest polls saying that they'd vote for him ... National pundits and GOP leaders see Corzine's woes as a sign that voters are growing discontented with Obama's policies... [NY Post]Mickey Kaus says that leaving Obamacare twisting in the wind helps Democrats by keeping the rest of their agenda out of the public debate [emphasis in original]...
... the issues waiting in the wings -- should health care leave the stage -- are even worse, from the Democrats' political perspective. Cap and trade, immigration legalization, "card check"--these are not what you'd call confidence building appetizers leading up to the main course of Obama's presidency. Plus the Afghan War!...Richard Cohen says Obama needs a "teachable moment" as a student ... Paul Krugman shows that the endorphin-driven happy effects from having Obama give him that dinner are beginning to wear off: "Obama’s Trust Problem -- There’s a growing sense among progressives that they have been duped by President Obama..." ... and these are all pundits who voted for Obama.
It's easy to forget that, even if Obama's health care effort is bogging down, the effort itself still serves his presidency as a crucial time-waster, tying up Congress and giving him a reason to postpone (or the public a reason to ignore) those other divisive, presidency-killers. Obama needs some excuse for putting off unpopular Democratic demands; health care's a good one....
Poll-wise, Obama's approval rating is down to 51% from 70% six months ago. And his good news/bad news is: "good news", he's leading his hypothetical leading Republican challengers in 2012; "bad news" he's pulling less than 50% against them and they won't start campaigning for another two years.
All quite a change from just months ago, when Obama and his Democratic minions had ushered in America the Liberal, the new Permanent Democratic Majority, and so cut off the Republicans at the knees that conservative pundits could only discouragedly ponder their dismal future and wonder how they could ever learn to walk again.
A short time is a long time in politics.
