http://www.nationaljournal.com/colu...can-criticism-of-obama-isn-t-working-20130523 No Wonder Republican Criticism of Obama Isnât Working Theyâre attacking the president where heâs least vulnerable at a time when they have minimal credibility. Henny Youngman, the late borscht belt comedian, told hundreds of politically incorrect jokes. One of them was his response when asked, âHowâs your wife?â âCompared to what?â heâd say. Many women find the joke tasteless, but it can be a useful framework for thinking about national politics. Americans may not be ecstatic about President Obama and his policies, but compared with the Republicans, they think Obama doesnât look so bad. This might partly explain why, even with all of the controversies engulfing the Obama administration these days, the president doesnât appear to be hurt at all, at least as measured by job-approval ratings. The numbers paint a picture very different from most congressional Republicansâ view of the world. Obamaâs job-approval ratings are pretty much where they have been for the past few months, before the controversies over Benghazi, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Associated Press began dominating the news two weeks ago. The May 17-18 CNN/ORC poll pegs Obamaâs job approval at 53 percent, up 2 points from early April. The Gallup Organizationâs polling for the week of May 6-12 showed that 49 percent approve and 44 percent disapprove of the president. For the following week, May 13-19, the numbers were precisely the same. The three-night average ratings for May 20-22 were 50 approve, 44 disapprove. Obamaâs numbers have been within the same range for months. His job-approval rating, according to the most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, released May 21, is still hovering around the same place, at 51 percent. More troubling for the GOP should be the CNN poll in which only 35 percent of respondents said they view the Republican Party favorably and an incredible 59 percent said they view the party unfavorably. In CNN polling, dating back to 1992, neither party has had an unfavorable rating higher than 59 percent (the GOP hit 59 percent one other time). Democrats are hardly riding highârecording 52 percent favorable/43 percent unfavorable ratingsâbut theyâre doing a heck of a lot better than When the May 16-19 ABC/Washington Post poll asked respondents whether each party is âmainly concentrating on things that are important to you personally,â 43 percent said the Democrats are concentrating on important things; 50 percent said theyâre not. Just 33 percent said they believed the Republicans are concentrating on important things, however; a whopping 60 percent said they arenât. Whatâs most telling is where Obama scores well with voters and where he does not. When asked whether they thought each of seven phrases did or did not apply to Obama, he rated best with âis likable,â at 79 percent. On âhonest and trustworthyâ and âis a decisive leader,â respondents scored the president at 58 percent. âIs not a typical politicianâ came in next, at 54 percent. His bottom three ratings were âcan manage the government effectivelyâ (52 percent said it applied, 47 percent said it did not); âgenerally agrees with you on issues you care aboutâ (51 percent to 47 percent); and âgenerally agrees with your views on the size and power of governmentâ (48 percent to 50 percent). Basically, Republicans are attacking Obama where he is least vulnerable and at a time when they have minimal credibility. It isnât working. By trying to turn everything into a scandal rather than saying Obamaâs policies are wrongheadedâand rather than fixing their own image problems with minority, female, younger, and moderate votersâRepublicans are focusing on attacking a guy whose name will never again appear on a ballot. The current situation is reminding many folks of the impeachment controversy in 1998. Blinded by their hatred for President Clinton, Republicans made irrational decisions then, and they are making the same mistakes today. For some House Republicans, their view of the president is a natural by-product of representing districts that are custom-drawn, conservative cocoons, where everyone pretty much thinks the same. These districts arenât representative of the nation as a whole. I am constantly amazed at the number of Republican members of Congress who thought, all the way up to Election Day, that Mitt Romney would win. Most Americans are becoming more hopeful that the economy is improving. The value of their homes and retirement accounts are increasing; the stock market is at a record high. They may not think the president has done a great job. But compared with congressional Republicans, heâs the pick of the litter.
Another way of saying we're screwed. We've got a president who's so bad at his job he only looks good only when compared to Congress. And we've got a Congress that's so bad they can't even look good when compared to an incompetent President. Yes, we're screwed. This would probably be a good time to leave the country. Can I sell my citizenship to an illegal alien on the way out?
I hate to admit it, but you are probably right. US is headed south and we are about halfway there. The nations in trouble: Southern EU, France, UK, and US. Asia has no where to go but up.
The Fed's $80 billion a month pumping that has kept the market and the economy afloat may be coming to an end, or at least a reduction, sooner than thought according to rumblings. Bernanke's term ends in January and the markets and economy are going to be looking at that with a weary eye about 6 months out.