This is one of those polls you kind of already know about before it’s actually conducted. A new Politico poll shows big trouble for Obama. 38% of respondents say he deserves to be reelected in 2012 despite a respectable number that actually like the guy as a person. Oh well, likeability has never governed a country.
Pretty much everything is on the table in this poll as a contributing factor to Obama’s reelection woes. The economy, jobs, healthcare, you name it. Congressional Republicans fared better than Obama when asked about creating jobs. Republicans also polled better with the economy than did Obama. Heck for that matter, Congressional Democrats polled better on that issue than Obama.
One main issue that keeps cropping up and driving Obama and Democrat numbers down is the wonderful, all perfect, solve every problem healthcare law. In this particular poll, 54% have an unfavorable view of the new law.
There’s still a long way to go until November 2012, but at this point Obama is floundering when he should be in control. Politico makes a point of comparing Obama to Clinton at this point in his first term in which Clinton polled about the same in 1994. He of course won a second term in 1996.
Even though only 38% say Obama should be reelected and he’ll probably still be in a somewhat weakened state come election time, the main focus for the Republicans needs to be finding a quality, conservative candidate to take on Obama. Simply relying on poor poll numbers and dwindling popularity just won’t cut it anymore. Language warning in the video below.
September 27th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
I keep reading/ hearing that Hillary will become VP, and the 2012 ticket will be Obama/Clinton…that this is the only way they will win.
I’m starting to believe there must be something to the rumors and it strikes terror in my heart.
Will our nation be so stupid as to keep O for four more years in order to get Hillary in place for 2016? Have we sunk that low?
September 27th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
I voted for him the first time around, but it’s not gonna happen in 2012. I’ll vote Libertarian if it’s an option, and I’ll abstain if it isn’t.
I expected the stupid fiscal policy; hell, it’s pretty much identical to what Bush was doing anyway, and the same basic approach was endorsed by John McCain. So that’s a wash.
But the reason I voted for Obama was that I thought he just might bring some sanity to our out-of-control police/security state. Instead he’s doubled down on wiretapping, state secrets, trials without due process, paramilitary escalation of domestic police forces, etc etc etc. He has been a severe disappointment in these areas, and I can’t justify voting for him again because of it.
September 27th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
I wonder how many of the people who have lost confidence and are disappointed in Obama are, like myself and the now famous “Is this the new reality?” inquisitor, on the left?
I know of no fellow liberal who thinks Obama has done a good job. We all feel he has been a deeply disappointing center-rightist governor who has made policy and political sacrifices that have gained absolutely nothing and lost almost everything.
The limitless extent to which he was willing to compromise with conservatives and repeatedly extend olive branches and make concessions, and the faith he placed in their willingness to put the country above politics– to think this crowd could be bipartisan for the good of the nation– it was his biggest mistake.
We wanted someone who would change things for real.
He should have insisted on the prosecution of the previous administration’s war cabinet for violations of the Geneva Convention. Dick Cheney should be in jail.
He should have had a real stimulus with focus on rebuilding our infrastructure and creating jobs and not the cowardly tax-cutting half-measures that accommodated the requirements of Republicans who didn’t vote for the stimulus anyway.
He should have insisted on single payer health care like they have in decent civilized western nations. And if he needed to compromise on private-public partnerships, he NEVER ever should have given away the public option. This was a debate he should have owned and not let tweets from Sarah Palin and other idiots control the debate and result in the piss-poor compromise we have now.
We should have taken over the banks when we gave them their industry bailout on our dime, and cleaned house and restructured the whole thing just like he did with the auto factories.
He should have closed Guantanamo in year one.
He should have insisted on trying KSM in New York, and given unquestionable support of the right of any religion to build a house of worship (or lack of worship) wherever the hell the local municipality says is legal.
He should have ended the war in Afghanistan or made it crystal clear to Americans why we were there and what we are trying to achieve.
He should have said thanks-but-no-thanks to the Nobel Peace prize.
Conservatives who voice opposition to the president talking to school children should be mocked relentlessly, not accommodated. Same for all idiotic conservative nonsense. These are not opinions to be respected.
He should have immediately investigated the atrocities revealed by wikileaks instead of prosecuting the alleged whistleblower.
He should have ended don’t-ask-don’t-tell.
In short, Obama has been a “take the left for granted”, try-to-please-the-right-and-get-your-ass-handed-back-to-you, milquetoast leader who has utterly failed in communicating to the public what he is doing and what our nations problems truly are.
I think the 38% reflects those opinions. He has totally lost his base.
September 27th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
@ Rhay
You voted for BHO because “he just might bring some sanity to our out-of-control police/security state” You were convinced of the Hope&Change slogan?
I asked all my Liberal friends WHY they were voting for Obama….No one gave me a good reason. Did he have a business background? Any knowledge of the military? Standard response was “…he is a lawyer (gag) and a great community organizer…” It astounded me. America is NOT a community nor a village (see HRClinton’s speech)
Now 2010 we have less police/less security and privacy invasions and regulations up the ____
Abstaining from voting is a vote for BHO…
September 27th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
@Me
So basically you’re saying that you’re disappointed in Obama because he’s not lefty enough?
Yikes.
September 27th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Off the point a bit, but is it just me or does “Nancy Pelosi” in the video above look way more like Sarah Palin?
September 27th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
I’m surprised 38% still want to give him a second term. But I suppose that is probably about the level of government and government-funded employees we have these days. Of course the ‘Takers’ want him to have 4 more years. They take and the rest of ‘Makers’ make what they take.
This is how Rome went from a republic to a shell for organized crime.
September 27th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
I think Me’s comments are the best on this thread. He has a coherent point of view and enumerates it well. I would just add that obama has been a victim of constant villification from the right and so many distorted messages have been endlessly woven that its obscured his theme. I think the right has learned how to play the 24 hour media cycle well. However, I dont think the right or republicans have any sensible positions at all and they are still deeply in corporate pockets that do not have the welfare of the ordinary citizen at heart. Just being a party of no has wasted much time for all of us and I still want health care and financial reform of a serious nature. iraq and afghanistan wasted so much time, energy, and lives of this country in return for a bunch of unpaid bills and doo doo.
September 27th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Me…..who has utterly failed in communicating to the public what he is doing and what our nations problems truly are.
This is typical of the myopia of the left. What we have here is not a failure to communicate but a failure of policy. Obama (and his writers) are supposed to be consummate communicators, the best ever. They (the left) continue to think they can govern a center-right country from the left. Now, they are putting their hopes in Hilary Clinton. Another socialist and a colossal liar to boot. Go ahead and run her.
Obama is failing and taking the left and half the democrats with him. It’s a beautiful thang.
September 27th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
So basically you’re saying that you’re disappointed in Obama because he’s not lefty enough?
That’s not just basically what I’m saying. That’s exactly what I’m saying. The only reason you people think he’s on the “far left” is because from where you are in radicalville, anything standing left of Rush Limbaugh is a radical hippy socialist. You guys think the center lies somewhere just to the right of glenn beck. If goldwater were alive today, he’s be a radical communist to you. EPA-creating Nixon? Forget it! Tax-raising Reagan would be an out of touch Hollywood limousine liberal.
The fact is, Obama has been center-right for 18 months, pandering and compromising away good policy in order to try to get consensus. The right has obviously cynically made a (winning) political calculus to fck over the country for political gain. The Republican philosophy has long been “Government can do no right, and when we’re in power we prove it!” Now it’s “Government can do no right, and we’re going to make sure that’s true no matter WHO’S in power”. It’s disgusting. And Obama has traded his opportunities, talents, and unprecedented mandate for weak positioning and hopeless compromise attempts with Republicans.
The only thing they (you, GOP) respond to is strength. Obama comes off as a pussy, and they smell it and take full advantage of it.
What we have here is not a failure to communicate but a failure of policy
We have a failure of both. The policy has been substandard because there has been a failure to communicate what we need. There has been a failure to say “We need X and the republicans are against it, because they know X will work and know I’ll get credit for it. But I’m going to fight for X and will not compromise because this country deserves and this situation demands the very best.”
He doesn’t say that. He doesn’t do that. Instead, he reaches across the aisle and extends his hand OVER AND OVER even though they keep chopping it off and throwing the bloody stump back to him. And yet he compromises “oh pretty pretty please, republicans… what if I water down my principals just a little? how about a little more? Will you help me if I water them down even more? I’ll pee all over this bill… I’ll make all my policies half-assed.. I’ll throw you some tax cuts.. how about that? You like those, right? So Please? Pretty please?” Meanwhile republicans are laughing… and when it comes to vote time, he gets the most lame-ass half-measures passed.
It’s pathetic.
It’s a matter of crappy watered-down policy AND a failure to use the bully pulpit to get through the (admittedly massive) BS machine from the right.
They (the left) continue to think they can govern a center-right country from the left.
This is the mantra that Fox continues to say, no matter how untrue it is. Because the more you say he’s governing from the left, the more of a pussy he is and says “Okay, okay! I’ll move to the right? How’s this? not enough? How’s this? How about this?” and he’s so far right of center now– bush foreign policy, bush economic policy, bush civil rights, bush DADT, it’s pathetic. This isn’t change anyone can believe in.
I mean– look at this tax cut BS.. This is how pathetic the democrats are. Here we have an issue– liberals want to give a tax cut to 100% of all americans. Everyone who makes $250,000 or less gets the tax cut, and those who make more get the same tax cut to the first $250,000. 2% of americans make more than $250K a year, and their (unpaid for– that is, borrowed from China) tax cuts will expire.
2/3s of Americans want this arrangement, while all republicans (and some democrats) want to extend the upper 2% tax cuts for rich people– primarily millionaires and billionaires… (you pretty much don’t make $250K/year w/o being at least a millionaire).
The biggest problem with the rich man’s tax cut is it’s a tax cut paid for by borrowing– $700 billion worth over 10 years. This should be a clear cut red flag for anyone who says they care about the deficit– it’s BORROWING $700 BILLION to give to rich people. Couldn’t be any clearer.
Now I’m going to ignore the merit of such a policy for now. There are lots of bullcrap reasons from republicans to support borrowing to cut rich people’s taxes. I won’t even refute them because it’s not the point. The point is that politically it’s clear cut– americans are against it.
What a wonderful issue democrats can use to highlight the differences between their values and republican values! WE want tax cuts for the middle class, while THEY want to fight for tax cuts for millionaires.. they want to hold your tax cuts hostage, etc. It’s a great argument politically, not the least because it’s true.
Now the GOP will have all kinds of bogus arguments about how it hurts small businesses (lie) and how it’s good for jobs (another lie).. or how it’s “my money” and the bureaucrats are going to take it from me, etc. But none of it has the ring of truth, for good reason. So just look at it politically– those arguments don’t wash with the public. It’s an easy political victory for Democrats, right before a “wave” election. It’s good policy AND good politics.
A last chance for democrats to take a stand.
So what do the democrats do? Do they put it front and center and use it to frame the debate on highlighting priorities between the parties? To highlight which party fights for the rich and who fights for the rest of us?
Hell no. They gets scared! Little mouses.. Oh no! don’t make that an issue! The GOP will run ads against us.. Boo hoo!!!
Pussies. This was an easy win and I bet that decision costs them 20 seats they could have kept. And of course, the GOP is taking full advantage of it. The spin? “The democrats are raising ALL of our taxes”.. Not that they need spin anyway– they just lie, no matter what’s happening.
They had a narrative, and a true one at that. They punted. They pissed it away.
In short, Obama needs a real challenge from the left in 2012. Because you people on the right don’t have any clue what a real liberal looks like.
September 27th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
Call me a liar micky, but another message I posted here isn’t here any more.
September 27th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
And its too bad because it was a doozy. But I guess someone here is scared of discussion, reason and clarity. D’oh!
Oh and yes, I reloaded the page earlier and it was definitely there.
September 28th, 2010 at 4:40 am
@ Rhay
You voted for BHO because “he just might bring some sanity to our out-of-control police/security state” You were convinced of the Hope&Change slogan?
I wasn’t “convinced” by anything, no. But he was highly critical of the abuses of executive power under Bush, and his campaign platform included specific things like de-escalating the wars, closing gitmo and ending torture, and dialing back the extent to which the executive branch runs roughshod over the rule of law.
The only thing you can point to from all of that is that we are (supposedly) not torturing people anymore. But he has still shielded an administration full of war criminals from any shred of accountability. And all of the rest of his security/executive power promises haven’t even received lip service. He’s attempting to assert his right to assassinate an American citizen behind the veil of “state secrets” with no oversight whatsoever — a move so unconstitutional that it’s not even worth getting into. He’s trying to expand the already ridiculous wiretapping abilities claimed by the Bush administration, by forcing communications companies of every kind to provide the government with a means to spy on their customers.
I didn’t expect Obama to be anything other than a politician, but that doesn’t mean I won’t hold him accountable when he aggressively rejects a central and morally critical component of his promised administration.
September 28th, 2010 at 9:11 am
ME;
“Call me a liar micky, but another message I posted here isn’t here any more.”
Might help if you told me what the fck you’re talking about. This is mt first post on this thread.
=============================
Gee, all these posts on his failures and successes at all these policies and no one mentions that we are less safe now than weve ever been.
Your this and that aint worth a damn if some tweaker Muslim blows it all to paradise
September 28th, 2010 at 9:16 am
“The limitless extent to which he was willing to compromise with conservatives and repeatedly extend olive branches and make concessions, and the faith he placed in their willingness to put the country above politics– to think this crowd could be bipartisan for the good of the nation– it was his biggest mistake.’
You must be high.
Were as divided as weve ever been.
Healthcare, overamping and expanding Bush bailouts to insane levels.
“Olive branch”?
Funny stuff there buddy
September 28th, 2010 at 9:43 am
Might help if you told me what the fck you’re talking about. This is mt first post on this thread.
I’ve had posts removed before and you accused me of making it up or not providing “evidence”.
September 28th, 2010 at 10:11 am
‘I’ve had posts removed before and you accused me of making it up or not providing “evidence”.”
Do you have a confession from the editor, or something substantiating this ?
It might be true because half your shts either irrelevant or completely full of it.
I’ve seen people censored for repeating lies.
Me thinks you’re jusy trying to cover for ineptness
September 28th, 2010 at 10:15 am
oh, micky, calling Me a liar too. very interesting. very interesting. I still say Me’s comments are the best on this thread and emminently coherent.
September 28th, 2010 at 10:22 am
Brian, when people like you make claims that can never be substantiated its a lie til proven otherwise.
You run off your mouth all the time calling it “Disinformation” and “twistedc” and all this other sht that basically inmplies you’re calling whatever source a liar.
So blow me, alright ?
Do er know that MEs post was ever their in the first place ? And what are we to think when one person out of everyone keeps crying their post got deleted ?
I’ve been here for over 2 years and never heard anyone whine so much about deletion than ME.
After a while you cant help but think that this schmuck uses it as an exuse everytime they cant come up with whats needed.
“THE DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK”
September 28th, 2010 at 10:25 am
“I still say Me’s comments are the best on this thread and emminently coherent.”
Yeah, and you also believe that pineapple grows on trees
LMFAO
September 28th, 2010 at 10:28 am
you can substantiate my claims just by watching bushjr’s wmd sales pitches on the youtube video’s. your just plain wrong micky. Me writes some accurate comments, and yes I have had one really good post deleted on Shannon’s thread a while back that was really telling. and it was a good post too. i complained about it on a few threads and since then none have been deleted. why wouldn’t you believe Me, he seems sincere to me. Being right wing isn’t enough, you have to still be in touch with reality! And he is. you just default to ideology tempered by a tiny bit of homespun nodding of the hat to reality. tiny bit.
September 28th, 2010 at 11:48 am
Maybe the rumors of Clinton being the next VP candidate on the ticket is the only thing that will help him at this point. If this rumor is true, it will certainly help his chances at offering up some solid leadership on his next ticket.
September 28th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Do er know that MEs post was ever their in the first place ? And what are we to think when one person out of everyone keeps crying their post got deleted ?
I’ve been here for over 2 years and never heard anyone whine so much about deletion than ME.
And yet…
I’ve seen people censored for repeating lies.
Well I certainly wasn’t “repeating lies”… but then, there seems to be only the most tenuous casual friendliness towards the concept of “truth” here, as you tend to demonstrate.
Nothing sucks more than having a post pulled without explanation- especially one that took a while to craft. It’s one thing to get censored for swearing or personal attacks, but if that were the practice (A) my message wouldn’t have been pulled for that and (B) all of micky’s messages would be.
I think instead that there is an objection to critical thought outside the consensus of this site. Which is common practice throughout history from the right. Burn the books and kill the heretics. This is your site and you can remove whatever you like. But it’s pretty cowardly and you should ask yourself if your beliefs and philosophies can possibly be right or true if you have to fight so hard to keep contrary ideas or facts away.
Because facts may be easy to keep out of sight and out of mind for a while. But by definition they are reality and reality beats censorship eventually.
September 28th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
Brian;”you can substantiate my claims just by watching bushjr’s wmd sales pitches on the youtube video’s. your just plain wrong micky”
NO ! “YOU” can susbstantiate only with “YOUR” opinion and preception.
Guilt is not determined by opinions based on perception.
Grow the fck up you idiot.
I’ve got the nastiest vocabulary and attitude here and I’ve never had anything deleted.
You guys just bring up distractions to veil your shtty arguments.
“oh the proofs there but they took it down”
Good grief you’re both pathetic and void of anything substantial to back your sht. Shannon just got done explaining his deletion policies to Rhay on the kiddy raper priest post.
Soo… is Shannon the liar ?
He seemed fair enough in explaining that he either doesnt know what happened or it was a racist comment.
Even Snow Crash who used to go by Denver Dan was moderated/edited/deleted but was given “and explanation.
None of which either of you have recieved yet, have you ?