Obama political fortunes are rising

Poll: Obama rebounding with voters, would beat GOP rivals
WASHINGTON — President Obama has bounced back from his low point after November's Elections and enjoys stronger support heading into the 2012 election cycle, particularly against Sarah Palin, according to a McClatchy Newspapers-Marist poll released Thursday. The poll also found a jump in the number of people who believe the country is heading in the right direction, and the president likely benefited from the productive postelection session of Congress. Obama's rating improved on several...

Huckabee Plans Trip to Alaska
The Huffington Post reports: WASHINGTON — Move over Sarah Palin, the mythic land of Alaska is getting some attention from another would-be Republican contender. If former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee hopes to win the GOP nomination in 2012, he’s going to have to woo some of Palin’s fans, so he’s made a logical move. He’s starring in a weeklong “Christian-based” cruise along the Alaskan coast this summer. Alaskan cruises are already famous in the rec...

Poll says Obama rebounding with voters, would beat GOP rivals
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has bounced back from his low point after November's Elections and enjoys stronger support heading into the 2012 election cycle, particularly against Sarah Palin, according to a McClatchy Newspapers-Marist poll released Thursday. Obama's fortunes appear to be rising along with the country's. The poll found a jump in the number of people who think the country's heading in the right direction. Also, the president probably benefited from the productive post...

Marist Poll - POTUS Out in Front
Posted by JM Ashby A new McClatchy/Marist Poll released today, which pre-dates both Palin's and the President's speeches last night, shows President Obama with massive leads over all of the current supposed GOP frontrunners including Huckabee, Romney, and Palin. Today Obama would beat Republican Mitt Romney by 51 to 38 percent, the poll showed. In a December McClatchy-Marist poll, he trailed the former Massachusetts Governor by 46-44 percent. Obama would defeat Republican Mike Huckabee by a s...

Russell Simmons accuses US of killing 200,000 Iraqis; blames Tea Party for hate
 Russell Simmons accuses US of killing 200,000 Iraqis; blames Tea Party for more hatred. The founder of hip-hop label Def Jam and entrepreneur appeared in a TV interview late yesterday to plug his latest book called “Super Rich,” appropriately named. Simmons is worth an approximate $340 million, and you would think that because of his ability to demonstrate that black people like him can make it in America, he would be more grateful to and respectful of his country. However, aft...

Palin to speak at gun convention
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the Safari Club International (SCI) gun convention on Jan. 29. According to the organization's Web site, the event is sold out. News of the Speech comes a little less than a week after the Mass Shooting in Tucson that left federal judge John Roll, 9-year old Christina Green and four others dead, and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and 12 others wounded. A graphic featuring the image of crosshairs over Gifford...

Obama calls for spirit of bipartisanship to continue
A week after the Mass Shooting in Arizona, President Obama called Saturday for members of Congress to bring the same spirit of unity they have shown in mourning to their work under the Capitol dome in the months ahead. In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama recalled that in the days after the shooting, "one of the places we saw that sense of community on display was on the floor of Congress, where Gabby Giffords, who inspires us with her recovery, is deeply missed by her colleagues." "...

Palin isn't the frontrunner
Public Policy Polling's Tom Jensen looks at Sarah Palin's poll numbers in the crucial early states, which are wildly out of line with her media profile: Sarah Palin's biggest obstacle to the White House may not be her remarkable level of unpopularity with Democrats and Independents. Her more immediate problem is that she simply doesn't have much support in the vital early Republican states of...

Palin's biggest problem
Sarah Palin's biggest obstacle to the White House may not be her remarkable level of unpopularity with Democrats and Independents. Her more immediate problem is that she simply doesn't have much support in the vital early Republican states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Florida. Palin does well in national polls on the GOP nomination contest, including a first place finish on our most recent one. But if those sorts of polls determined the nominee Hillary Clinton would most likely be in the...

Analysis: Palin isn't retreating, she's reloading (The Christian Science Monitor)
Say one thing for Sarah Palin: She heeds her own advice. Coming only days after Ms. Palin was drawn into the Arizona shooting drama, news that the former Alaska Governor and potential presidential aspirant will headline a gun-friendly hunting convention Jan. 29 fits her famous stump phrase: "Don't retreat, reload." It is a philosophy that defines Palin as a political figure and also points to how closely her own public persona echoes that of the American gun culture she promotes....

Rampage prompts political maneuvering (AP)
WASHINGTON – Democrats, Republicans and independent groups across the ideological spectrum are seeking political profit from the shooting rampage that left six dead and Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords wounded, often moderating their Rhetoric in pursuit of their goals. Often, but not always. Two days after shootings, the conservative Tea Party Express issued a Fundraising appeal that said accused gunman Jared Loughner's actions in the months leading to the shooting were "more consistent w...

A very popular president again
It's not just the Speech.  Optimism in general seems to be on the rise during a week (and I think this is a big part of the reason) when Congress is silent. Obama's fortunes appear to be rising along with the country's. The poll found a jump in the number of people who think the country's heading in the right direction. Also, the president probably benefited from the productive post-election session of Congress. "Obama's standing on far firmer footing," sai...

1/14: Expectations High for Second Half of Obamas Term
Midway into his term, President Barack Obama may be finding his political sea legs.  According to this national McClatchy-Marist Poll, when asked about how the president will perform during his next two years in office, 61% of Registered Voters are optimistic, saying the president will do better than he did in the previous two years of his term.  About one in five voters — 21% — think he will do a worse job, and 5% believe he will perform about the same as he already has.  12% a

Poll: 77% Say It Was Good For Obama and Congress To Agree on Lame-Duck Cooperation
ABC News/Yahoo poll abcnews.com Americans over whelmingly welcomed the flurry of lawmaking between the lame-duck Congress and President Obama last month -- but they're hedging their bets on whether the duck keeps quacking. Seventy-seven percent in this ABC News/Yahoo! News poll say it was good for Obama and Congress to agree to lame-duck Legislation on Tax Cuts, Unemployment benefits, Gays in the Military, the START Treaty and aid to 9/11 responders. That includes majorities across the spectrum...

ABC Claims Everyone Loved Lame Duck
From a shameless ABC News: Poll: Obama and Lame-Duck Congress Popular - But Will it Quack Again? 77% Welcome the Lame-Duck Cooperation Between Obama and Congress ANALYSIS [sic] by GARY LANGER Jan. 14, 2011 Americans overwhelmingly welcomed the flurry of lawmaking between the lame-duck Congress and President Obama last month — but they’re hedging their bets on whether the duck keeps quacking. Seventy-seven percent in this ABC News/Yahoo! News poll say it was good for Obama a...

That Can-Do Lame Duck Congress? ABC News Poll Finds Americans Loved It!
The Lame Duck Congress is a hit with Americans. An ABC News/Yahoo! News poll finds 77 percent of Americans approved of the “flurry of Legislation” pushed through Congress last month, saying it was good for President Obama and Congress to work together. The poll-out this morning-finds approval across party lines, with 91 percent of Democrats, 79 percent of Independents and 62 percent of Republicans approving of the rush of legislation on Tax Cuts, Unemployment Benefits, g...

Obama urges Americans to work together after rampage
WASHINGTON | Sat Jan 15, 2011 6:11am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged Americans on Saturday to maintain the "spirit of common cause" that arose from grieving over the Arizona shootings and use it to solve the nation's problems. Legislative work in Washington came to a halt this week while lawmakers and citizens from both parties mourned the Victims of a gunman who went on a rampage in Arizona on January 8, killing six people and wounding 14, including Representative Gab...

Obama urges Americans to work together after rampage
Legislative work in Washington came to a halt this week while lawmakers and citizens from both parties mourned the Victims of a gunman who went on a rampage in Arizona on January 8, killing six people and wounding 14, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Obama gave a well-received Speech at a memorial service for the Victims on Wednesday in Arizona and he revived the theme of national unity in his weekly radio and Internet address. The president lauded lawmakers who came together to pay...

Obama urges Americans to work together after rampage (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama urged Americans on Saturday to maintain the "spirit of common cause" that arose from grieving over the Arizona shootings and use it to solve the nation's problems. Legislative work in Washington came to a halt this week while lawmakers and citizens from both parties mourned the Victims of a gunman who went on a rampage in Arizona on January 8, killing six people and wounding 14, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Obama...

Obama urges Americans to work together after rampage
WASHINGTON | Sat Jan 15, 2011 6:11am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged Americans on Saturday to maintain the "spirit of common cause" that arose from grieving over the Arizona shootings and use it to solve the nation's problems. Legislative work in Washington came to a halt this week while lawmakers and citizens from both parties mourned the Victims of a gunman who went on a rampage in Arizona on January 8, killing six people and wounding 14, including Representative Gab...

Open Field Spurs GOP Dark Horses
The lack of a clear 2012 Republican presidential front-runner is prompting lesser-known figures to consider joining the race. Instead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney or former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, some conservative groups are looking for fresh faces and asking: Why not Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan or former Godfather's Pizza Chief Executive Herman Cain? View Full Image ...

Rampage prompts political maneuvering
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats, Republicans and independent groups across the ideological spectrum are seeking political profit from the shooting rampage that left six dead and Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords wounded, often moderating their Rhetoric in pursuit of their goals. Often, but not always. Two days after shootings, the conservative Tea Party Express issued a Fundraising appeal that said accused gunman Jared Loughner’s actions in the months leading to the shooting were “mo...

Michael Steele loses bid for re-election as RNC chair
Michael Steele is out as RNC chairman. Reince Priebus, former chairman of the Wisconsin GOP, unseated Steele in Friday's vote among GOP memebers and will be taking over the number one spot on the Republican National Committee. Steele withdrew his name from consideration after the fourth round of voting after he realized he had little chance of winning another term. Priebus has aligned himself with the Tea Party movement, which Republicans credit with their recent takeover of the House of Represe...

What Americans Need to Do Now, After the Shooting and Tragedy In Arizona
This week President Obama helped the nation mourn in Tucson. Today let's celebrate American Democracy and the freedoms we enjoy and not let a nut with a gun in any way interfere with a full-throated, passionate dialogue that is as American as apple pie. For in order for Democracy to thrive it's imperative that we resist the impulse to tell opinionated people who are exercising Political Speech that its their fault for inciting deranged people from acting out their darkest fantasies. On the contr...

Build-up to shooting spree
TUCSON: The suspect in the Mass Shooting in Arizona posed for photos with a gun, dressed only in a bright red G-string, and had the film developed on the eve of the rampage that killed six people and gravely injured Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, authorities said yesterday. The most detailed timeline of Jared Loughner's, busy 11 hours before the shooting was released yesterday by the Pima County Sheriff's Office. It began with Loughner, 22, dropping off the 35mm film at a pharmacy ...