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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (32207)	2/4/2009 12:03:51 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

Obama becoming president was seen as a change, as matter of campaign rhetoric (but effective rhetoric), as a racial thing, and just because Bush was unpopular, and he's a new president from a different party. There was a lot of emotion around his election, inauguration, and the beginning of his presidency. That fluff doesn't usually last long. The inflated approval ratings could largely be because of that fluff, but something like 55% from Democracy Corps, or low 60s from Rasmussen) is far less "fluffy" that the high 60s to low 70s that he had before; so while maybe he takes an additional hit over the nominations, I don't see this as a sign of the start of a massive plunge. A massive plunge could of course come later, but that will largely depend on events. Also I find it hard to believe, that whatever happens, he will have ratings as low as Bush eventually got. Even if things are much worse under Obama, Obama's core support will blame Bush.

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (32207)	2/5/2009 3:05:45 AM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

Pretty funny! Gallup's poll results (followed by FOX's slant on the same thing. Hilarious!) Gallup's article about the results of their latest poll: Americans Approve of Most Obama Actions to Date Widespread support for decisions on ethics reform, interrogations, fuel standards by Jeffrey M. Jones gallup.com PRINCETON, NJ -- Of seven actions Barack Obama has taken during the early days of his presidency, five are supported by large majorities of Americans. The Jan. 30-Feb. 1 USA Today/Gallup poll asked Americans to say whether they approve or disapprove of seven specific actions Obama has taken as president. Americans' general support for most of these is in line with Obama's initial overall job approval ratings. The public is most supportive of his decisions to name special envoys to oversee the administration's efforts in the Middle East, and Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to tighten rules on people working as lobbyists either before or after serving in his administration. Both of these moves are favored by 76% of Americans. Americans are nearly as supportive of Obama's actions to limit the interrogation methods that can be used on military prisoners -- actions designed to ensure the United States does not resort to torture to find out information from prisoners. Seventy-four percent of Americans favor that decision, the same percentage who favor his executive order to institute higher fuel efficiency standards. Two in three Americans approve of his signing a bill to make it easier for workers to sue for pay discrimination, the first legislation he has signed into law as president. The public does not agree with everything Obama has done, however. For example, more Americans say they disapprove (50%) than approve (44%) of his decision to order the closing of the Guantanamo Bay prison for terrorist suspects in Cuba within a year. Further, Obama's decision to reverse the prohibition on funding for overseas family-planning providers may be the least popular thing he has done so far. This was an executive order that forbade federal government money from going to overseas family-planning groups that provide abortions or offer abortion counseling. Fifty-eight percent of Americans disapprove of Obama's decision to lift this ban, while only 35% approve of it. The ban on federal funds to these groups was put in place by Ronald Reagan, but lifted by Bill Clinton. George W. Bush re-instituted the ban after taking office in 2001, but Obama has once again lifted it. The abortion and Guantanamo Bay prison decisions are especially unpopular among Republicans; only 8% approve of the former and 11% of the latter. But these are also the least popular decisions among independents and Democrats as well, though a majority of Democrats still approve of both. Republicans are in general less supportive of all of Obama's important early actions than are Democrats and independents, as would be expected. But a majority of Republicans do approve of four of the seven decisions, including 58% who approve of limitations on certain interrogation techniques, something the Bush administration resisted. Implications While the public has not supported everything Obama has done in his presidency thus far, he continues to receive strong overall job approval ratings around 66%. It appears that Americans believe the good outweighs the bad to this point in the Obama presidency. Admittedly, many of Obama's early actions have been noncontroversial, and ones that did not receive a great deal of continuing news coverage. His work in passing an economic stimulus plan is a departure from that, and may provide a stiffer test of how strong his public support is. The U.S. House version of his plan met with opposition from the entire Republican caucus, and the Senate will work this week to craft a different version of the plan that enjoys broader partisan support. Still, like prior presidents, Obama appears to be enjoying solid public support during this early stage or "honeymoon" phase of his administration.... -------------------------------------------------------- Now, FOX 'News' tries a little slash-and-burn, writing their take about the EXACT SAME POLL RESULTS: Poll: Americans Oppose Obama's First Two Executive Orders President Obama's first two executive orders -- allowing federal funding for overseas abortions and closing Guantanamo -- have been met with widespread opposition, according to a poll released Tuesday. FOXNews.com Tuesday, February 03, 2009 foxnews.com President Obama has garnered widespread support for his early actions in office, but Americans strongly oppose the commander-in-chief's first two executive orders -- allowing federal funding for overseas abortions and closing Guantanamo -- according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday. Fifty-eight percent of Americans said they disagreed with the president's decision to give overseas funding to family planning organizations that provide abortions, according to the survey taken between Friday and Sunday. Thirty-five percent supported it. Obama signed an order Jan. 23 reversing the "Mexico City policy" -- a prohibition first implemented by Ronald Reagan, which forbade the U.S. government from sending money to overseas family-planning organizations that perform abortions or offer abortion counseling. The ban, which was lifted when Bill Clinton took office, was later re-established by George W. Bush in 2001. The poll also found that more Americans -- 50 percent to 44 percent --oppose the president's decision to close the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects within in a year. Obama's executive orders are especially unpopular among Republicans. Only eight percent said they approve the president's decision to fund overseas abortions, while 11 percent said they agree with his order to shut down Guantanamo. Both orders were also least popular among Democrats, though most surveyed said they approved of the president's decisions. Despite clear disapproval to the two executive orders, an overwhelming majority of Americans said they supported the president's first actions as president. Seventy-four percent favored Obama's position to lift interrogation techniques on prisoners, while 76 percent said they agreed with the decision to name special envoys to the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Seventy-six percent also said the agreed with Obama's decision to tighten ethics rules for administration officials. And 66 percent said they agree with his effort to make it easier for workers to sue for pay discrimination. Click here to see the Gallup poll. ========================================================= (You couldn't make something that funny up... it's just CHOICE! :-)