President Obama is armed and ready to take on the Tea Party-led GOP now that he is seeing support for financing his jobs plan with spending cuts and restoring the tax rates to 1990s level for the richest Americans.
A new Gallup poll out today shows significant majorities of Americans favor Obama paying for his latest jobs plan by taxing the wealthy and wiping out tax breaks for some corporations.
There is even more evidence of good news for Obama, including word from some of his allies who say the push-back rhetoric from Republicans like House Speaker John Boehner is an indication that the GOP is feeling the President's sting. Boehner and others on the right spent much of today whining that Obama is waging class warfare.
Now the fractured ranks of the Democratic left is liking what it is hearing from Obama so far regarding his newly announced $3.2 trillion deficit reduction plan that includes taxing the richest Americans at the same rate as middle class taxpayers.
And that is a big deal, because if Obama can shore up the disheartened ranks of his progressive supporters early on in the 2012 presidential election season it will give him ample opportunity to battle for the moderate independent voters who will be the deciding factor in next year's balloting.
"His problem isn't me or Move On so much as it is all the people who voted for him in '08 who may vote for him again. They probably won't vote for the Republican. But they're not going to go out and bring 10 people to the polls with them. They're not going to be excited about voting again. And that's where it could really hurt him," said lefty filmmaker and commentator Michael Moore.
"So, this thing that happened today is very exciting, and to have him just repeat over and over again, I will refuse to let these Bush tax cuts for the rich continue, I will refuse to rebuild this country on the backs of the poor and the middle class, that is music to my ears. We should have heard this from day one. I'll take it on day 900 if that's when I get it," Moore told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow last night.
One of the most vocal and angry constituencies within the progressive wing of the Democratic Party has been the gay and lesbian community. Many Gay Democrats felt the White House was just giving lip service when it came to it's support for abolishing the military's don't ask, don't tell.
"A lot of us were so ticked off at him for dragging his feet," said John Aravosis, a progressive opinion leader known for his political instincts and sometimes bombastic approach to driving home a point.
But there is euphoria today in the gay community, which has heaped millions of dollars into the Obama campaign along with their support on election day: Don't ask, don't tell is off the books and gay and lesbian Americans can now serve openly in the armed forces.
"It became real as of midnight last night, and it is true that we would not have won without a President pushing for it," said Aravosis, who is an openly gay blogger with a significant following on his AmericaBlog platform.
So Obama is finally having good week, but there remains a skepticism among some supporters that when it gets down to the 11th hour he will blink and give Republicans what they want, without a fight.
"People are more excited, but a lot of people are waiting to see if he follows through," Aravosis observed. "I have a lot of trouble believing everyone at this point is just going to say, 'Oh, ok we're going to come back now.'"
Showing posts with label poll. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poll. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Obama Didn't Embrace Twitter, at First
President Obama's decision to hold a Twitter Town Hall was an about-face for the commander-in-chief who only months ago in private conversations with aides would scoff at the 140-character social media format for its lack of depth and sophistication, according to sources with knowledge of those conversations.
In particular, Obama would get miffed at the news media for picking up the Twitter comments made by ex-GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. "He complained that 'They hang on her every word and report it without even questioning her directly,'" one informed source said this morning, quoting the President.
Obama, who fashions himself to be an accomplished writer of high-minded ideas and observations, began to warm up to Twitter as he saw the success his own aides and other politicians in Washington were having with the Internet medium.
As of last month, 13% of Americans who go online use Twitter, a 5% increase from last November, according to a Pew Research Center study. Twitter last month reported that about 200 million Tweets now move each day.
It was those details and others -- as well as the ability to do an end-around on the mainstream media and speak directly to Americans -- that prompted Obama to join Twitter Co-founder Jack Dorsey yesterday in the East Room of the White House, where the President took questions from 18 Twitter users in front of a live audience.
Of course, Obama is no neophyte when it comes to social media, having already done YouTube and Facebook town halls.
Obama drew more than 169,000 "Tweeted" questions and comments during his first-ever Twitter town hall from the White House, but as expected only answered a handful of those inquiries during the hour-long session -- and of course the questions he addressed had been screened by aides.
The President took questions on the budget, taxes and education, and even turned around an inquiry by GOP Speaker John Boehner who asked "Where are the Jobs?" In his in-your-face response, Obama accused the House Speaker of not cooperating with White House job-creation efforts.
In particular, Obama would get miffed at the news media for picking up the Twitter comments made by ex-GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. "He complained that 'They hang on her every word and report it without even questioning her directly,'" one informed source said this morning, quoting the President.
Obama, who fashions himself to be an accomplished writer of high-minded ideas and observations, began to warm up to Twitter as he saw the success his own aides and other politicians in Washington were having with the Internet medium.
As of last month, 13% of Americans who go online use Twitter, a 5% increase from last November, according to a Pew Research Center study. Twitter last month reported that about 200 million Tweets now move each day.
It was those details and others -- as well as the ability to do an end-around on the mainstream media and speak directly to Americans -- that prompted Obama to join Twitter Co-founder Jack Dorsey yesterday in the East Room of the White House, where the President took questions from 18 Twitter users in front of a live audience.
Of course, Obama is no neophyte when it comes to social media, having already done YouTube and Facebook town halls.
Obama drew more than 169,000 "Tweeted" questions and comments during his first-ever Twitter town hall from the White House, but as expected only answered a handful of those inquiries during the hour-long session -- and of course the questions he addressed had been screened by aides.
The President took questions on the budget, taxes and education, and even turned around an inquiry by GOP Speaker John Boehner who asked "Where are the Jobs?" In his in-your-face response, Obama accused the House Speaker of not cooperating with White House job-creation efforts.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Amercans Support Afghan Drawdown; Fewer Fear Terror Attack
A majority of Americans are not afraid that withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan will open up the United States to terrorist attacks, the Gallup poll reports.
Some 55% of Americans say they are not worried about terrorist attacks as a result of President Obama's plan to begin the drawdown, an increase from the 43% who said they did not fear a terrorist attack back in December 2009, when the President first announced his intent to start withdrawing troops in 2011, the survey indicated.
"Though Americans remain supportive of the war effort in Afghanistan, they appear ready to wind down the war, given the broad support for Obama's plan for withdrawal and a belief by most that the U.S. has accomplished its mission there," Gallup analyst Jeffrey Jones wrote.
"Though many who argue for continuing the war effort cite the possibility of increased vulnerability of the U.S. to terrorist attack as justification, a majority of Americans do not share that concern," Jones concluded.
Obama's address to the nation last week failed to give him a bump in job approval, but Americans overwhelming support his plan to begin withdrawing U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year, Gallup reports.
Asked about the plan that calls for about 30,000 troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of next summer, with the remainder out by 2014, some 72%, of Americans are in favor, while 23% are opposed, the poll showed.
Americans favor the withdrawal plan across the political spectrum -- even more Republicans favor it than oppose it, the survey showed.
More Americans -- 43% say pulling out the 30,00 troops (it is actually closer to 33,000, according to the Obama plan) is about right, while 29% call it too low, and 19% too high.
However, the timetable for troop withdrawal is where the support gets fewer cheers -- 30% of Americans say the timetable is about right, 33% say it should happen soon, while 31% say there should be no timetable at all.
The party line breakdown over the timetable is predictable, with more Democrats with Obama, followed, in diminishing order, by Independent voters and Republicans.
Then survey is good news for the White House, but the positive reaction to the withdrawal plan does not translate into a bump in Obama's job approval rating.
The new Gallup poll suggests he succeeded in satisfying public opinion, with 72% of Americans broadly in favor of his plan. Yet, scratching beneath the surface, the poll also suggests he did not go far enough to fully satisfy Democrats' and independents' desire for a swift withdrawal," Gallup analyst Lydia Saad writes.
"This may partly explain Obama's lagging job approval rating over the past 10 days, or at least why his June 22 speech announcing his 'way forward in Afghanistan' did not help to raise it out of the mid-40s," Saad explained.
And, of course, even though Gallup does not cite it as reason, everything Obama does now is seen through the prism of the economy first.
Some 55% of Americans say they are not worried about terrorist attacks as a result of President Obama's plan to begin the drawdown, an increase from the 43% who said they did not fear a terrorist attack back in December 2009, when the President first announced his intent to start withdrawing troops in 2011, the survey indicated.
"Though Americans remain supportive of the war effort in Afghanistan, they appear ready to wind down the war, given the broad support for Obama's plan for withdrawal and a belief by most that the U.S. has accomplished its mission there," Gallup analyst Jeffrey Jones wrote.
"Though many who argue for continuing the war effort cite the possibility of increased vulnerability of the U.S. to terrorist attack as justification, a majority of Americans do not share that concern," Jones concluded.
Obama's address to the nation last week failed to give him a bump in job approval, but Americans overwhelming support his plan to begin withdrawing U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year, Gallup reports.
Asked about the plan that calls for about 30,000 troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of next summer, with the remainder out by 2014, some 72%, of Americans are in favor, while 23% are opposed, the poll showed.
Americans favor the withdrawal plan across the political spectrum -- even more Republicans favor it than oppose it, the survey showed.
More Americans -- 43% say pulling out the 30,00 troops (it is actually closer to 33,000, according to the Obama plan) is about right, while 29% call it too low, and 19% too high.
However, the timetable for troop withdrawal is where the support gets fewer cheers -- 30% of Americans say the timetable is about right, 33% say it should happen soon, while 31% say there should be no timetable at all.
The party line breakdown over the timetable is predictable, with more Democrats with Obama, followed, in diminishing order, by Independent voters and Republicans.
Then survey is good news for the White House, but the positive reaction to the withdrawal plan does not translate into a bump in Obama's job approval rating.
The new Gallup poll suggests he succeeded in satisfying public opinion, with 72% of Americans broadly in favor of his plan. Yet, scratching beneath the surface, the poll also suggests he did not go far enough to fully satisfy Democrats' and independents' desire for a swift withdrawal," Gallup analyst Lydia Saad writes.
"This may partly explain Obama's lagging job approval rating over the past 10 days, or at least why his June 22 speech announcing his 'way forward in Afghanistan' did not help to raise it out of the mid-40s," Saad explained.
And, of course, even though Gallup does not cite it as reason, everything Obama does now is seen through the prism of the economy first.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Poll: GOP Dovishness on Libya is Just Partisanship
Democratic voters are more supportive of the Libyan air campaign than Republicans, stealing the hawkish pro-military mantle, at least for now, away from the increasingly isolationist GOP, a new survey shows.
Overall, by a margin of 46% to 39% more Americans oppose the NATO-led no-fly zone than support it, reversing the backing that the air campaign had at the outset of the action, a Gallup poll released today indicates.
Americans supported the action 47% to 37% back in March, the survey showed.
Democrats back the Libya action by a margin of 54% to 35%, roughly the same backing Obama's party gave the air campaign at the outset, the polls showed.
Republicans, however, have flipped on their support for the war. In March, the historically hawkish GOP backed the campaign by a margin of 57% to 31%, but those new-found doves now oppose the mission 47% to 39%, Gallup reported.
Independent voters have the most disapproval for the Libya action in the latest poll by a margin of 52% to 31%, but that comes as no surprise since the indies were against the mission at the outset, as well, by a 44%-38% spread.
In its analysis of the poll of 999 adults conducted June 22 Gallup attributed the change of heart in GOP support to partisan politics
"This likely reflects increased criticism of the mission's legality and cost from some Republican congressional leaders and presidential candidates," Gallop analyst Jeffrey Jones wrote of the survey that has a sampling error of plus or minus of 4%.
The survey comes as the House conducts two show votes today aimed at signaling its disdain for President Obama refusing to abide by the War Powers resolution.
The House action, which would cut spending for the U.S. role in Libya, is mainly theatrics, since the Senate is not expected to follow suit. The Senate is primed to give Obama at least until the end of the year to wrap up the Libya campaign.
The most interesting aspect of the symbolic House opposition to the bombing campaign is the unlikely alliance of conservative Republicans and peacenik Democrats.
Overall, by a margin of 46% to 39% more Americans oppose the NATO-led no-fly zone than support it, reversing the backing that the air campaign had at the outset of the action, a Gallup poll released today indicates.
Americans supported the action 47% to 37% back in March, the survey showed.
Democrats back the Libya action by a margin of 54% to 35%, roughly the same backing Obama's party gave the air campaign at the outset, the polls showed.
Republicans, however, have flipped on their support for the war. In March, the historically hawkish GOP backed the campaign by a margin of 57% to 31%, but those new-found doves now oppose the mission 47% to 39%, Gallup reported.
Independent voters have the most disapproval for the Libya action in the latest poll by a margin of 52% to 31%, but that comes as no surprise since the indies were against the mission at the outset, as well, by a 44%-38% spread.
In its analysis of the poll of 999 adults conducted June 22 Gallup attributed the change of heart in GOP support to partisan politics
"This likely reflects increased criticism of the mission's legality and cost from some Republican congressional leaders and presidential candidates," Gallop analyst Jeffrey Jones wrote of the survey that has a sampling error of plus or minus of 4%.
The survey comes as the House conducts two show votes today aimed at signaling its disdain for President Obama refusing to abide by the War Powers resolution.
The House action, which would cut spending for the U.S. role in Libya, is mainly theatrics, since the Senate is not expected to follow suit. The Senate is primed to give Obama at least until the end of the year to wrap up the Libya campaign.
The most interesting aspect of the symbolic House opposition to the bombing campaign is the unlikely alliance of conservative Republicans and peacenik Democrats.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)