I thought Bush was the worst president in US history – I was wrong. Obummer is running around campaigning in a taxpayer-provided bus, FINALLY talking about jobs (with no plans to produce those jobs), but also talking about the need to cut “entitlements”. He has already done preemptive caving – saying he is OK with raising the age for medicare to 67. Lowering the “wages” of seniors will NOT stimulate economic activity. I wish this guy would either face a primary challenger or announce that he has decided not to run in 2012, but his ego is just to big to do the right thing.

lainey – Emotionally, I am right with you. However, I do think that Obama is attempting to steer a “practical” course…the problem is that he is not dealing in a practical or rational environment. Realpolitik doesn’t work with extremists, and he doens’t get it.

Sadly, I think Obama is unre-electable given the polarized electorate: the conservatives will ultimately rally around “anyone-but-Obama”, the moderates will split, and the left leaning will be unenthusastic or be split among a 3rd party candidtate should one emerge and go the distance.

I like the man. I still think that he wants to move in the right direction (yes, middle of the road…but I can accept that is reality). He just doesn’t know how to fight & is getting run over. I think the best leadership would be to announce he is not running for re-election. Otherwise I am willing to bet dollars to donuts that we are going to see a President Perry…God forbid.

Of course, we aren’t really going to see any progressive change until things get much worse than they are today. I fear that it will take enough pain and a situation where the everyday Joe realizes that he/she can’t make it alone – that we have to pull together. Perry can give us that vision: a living Hell to make us realize that “God-damn-ye-ta-hell” Texas individualism doesn’t work for very long.

He should run next year as a moderate Republican. Then we can all not vote for him.

Seriously, he seems to go for half-measures and then compromise the hell out of them. every time.

71% disapprove? So?

60 – 70% favored single payer, jobs over deficit, and on and on.

Fact is, the guy probably will be re-elected, proving that taking care of the top 2% is adequate governance in modern America.

Even if he isn’t re-elected despite the Repubs running someone who couldn’t have won the presidency of the Confederacy, it will be close, which makes my point just as well.

And, no, I am not cynical at all.

I wonder if O)’s advisers can figure out why his numbers are tanking, given that they seem to think we’re all more interested in fixing the deficit that we are in having actual paying jobs.

He should run next year as a moderate Republican. Then we can all not vote for him.

LOL ; ) Thanks for that PJ : )

You find destroying the rule of law, refusing to hold those who tortured to ANY account, and the use of drones, which is morally equivalent to the use of V-2 rockets, somehow acceptable, not to mention dismantling the New deal, do you, bark?

Also forgetting the old, young, halt and poor?

Talk about being at a rock and a HARD hearted place,

And please, don’t tell me about ALL the wunnerful things he’s done, ‘cept them mean ole repubs jus won’t let him do whats “right”?

You’re going to vote for Mr. Osterity, though, are you not?

The other day I was trying to think of one good thing Obama has accomplished and I honestly couldn’t. Wars, opened the gates wide for the greedy not the needy, and destroyed the Democratic Party. If you’re an R, I guess he’s pretty good.

Maybe this poll is not really all that surprising to Obama and his group. He was put in office to cut benefits (they’re not “entitlements”) and coddle the rich, and keep the perpetual war intact, so while these things are predictably unpopular, it doesn’t mean that he hasn’t been successful at his agenda. He’s a moderate republican charading as a populist democrat, a grand deception. These poll numbers were predictable. Will he step aside, as did LBJ, when failure is apparent. Of course not, because he doesn’t believe he’s failed at all. The elites all love him, and send him money, so he believes he’s doing a wonderful job.

But I do heartily agree, a primary challenger from the left could win this election, and it should be done. Maybe these numbers will get a potential primary campaign started up soon.

The only repub I see in this field that can beat BO is Ron Paul. He would capture a lot of indies and young voters. Unfortunately for Paul, his ideology runs counter to MIC and Wall Street so he’ll be marginalized and/or ignored.
That said, I am not a Ron Paul guy. It’s whomever the Green candidate is.

Paul’s ideology runs counter to mine, too. The man has some fairly unsavory associations.

Then there is Bee Pee in the Gulf, an “immigration policy” that puts heartless out of business, a blind-eye to a rapacious MICC, and riding around in a Darth Vader Bus like some kind of self-admiring, no-talent, wanna-be rock star, why the man couldn’t carry a principle around in a gold-plated wheelbarrow, Twain.

Tell me, in all my years I’ve NEVER seen anything like this deliberate, smug-talking, cowardly fail, have you?

DW

Face it folks. There ain’t nobody that’ll get within sniffing distance of the nomination of either party w/o the approval of the Wall St. boys. The big O is doing exactly what his handlers want him to do. Anybody dare do anything different and they will be killed. Hell, even when they ARE doing the bidding of Wall St. they can be impeached like Clinton.

I guess Obama skipped the economics classes at Langley and only took the subterfuge track.

Obama asked for that low rating, by buying in to the false GOP narrative that the debt is the crisis. This after he gave them their Bush tax cut extention last December, that created job loss over 10 years, that he had unilateral power to cancel.

Amazing how Obama thinks the road forward is compromise and concession, to proven-wrong Reaganites.

– Balkingpoints / www

I think that right now the only numbers that the Obama campaign really cares about is how much money they are raising for the campaign from the big money boys. They probably figure as long as they can raise their billion dollars from the vested interests that it doesn’t matter how low Obama’s approval ratings are- they will be able to make the Republican’s worse with mega add buys. Of course, you have to wonder how closely the rest of the Democrats will be with this cynical, essentially corrupt strategy as Obama’s overall approval numbers head into the 30′s…

With those #’s you’d think a R can’t lose unless he tries (don’t believe (yet)it will be a she.)(wow. double parentheses). but it’s very likely. Freaking pathetic that a R could lose to O.

There is nothing rational or practical surrounding yourself with people who, like Bush (both of them) and Reagan believe in supply-side, trickle-down economics and deregulation as an economic success formula. There is nothing intelligent about proposing “fair trade” as a job creator. And there is nothing likable about someone who protects and excuses sociopaths who torture, some to death, prisoners of war. On inaugurations day, 2008, I was giddy with joy…real change was coming to DC. Now I detest and have nothing but contempt for this lying Janus-faced fraud. The honeymoon is over…I want a divorce!

Have never seen anything like this, DW. It still stuns me and I’m really alarmed about my country.

Given that all of Obama’s general approval comes from partisan Democrats like Kos munchkins one can only speculate that the one in four Americans – who are these people? – must largely be blissed out OFA members and MoveOn.org supporters.

A President Perry will mean a run to the Canadian immigration office with people asking for asylum. I don’t think it will happen. Perry is going to flame out. There is no way that this corporate fascist with his macho asshole strut is going to win the industrial Midwest (minus the rustics in Indiana).
If one believes that things have to get so damn worse before it gets better, then Perry in the WH would be the cancer we have to combat before the public body can go into remission.

Really … Dayen: who *are* these people who actually support what Obama seems to be doing to the economy er for the economy?

billionaires buying the swoons

corruption is inefficient

http://www.businessinsider.com/commenter?id=4dd59424ccd1d5a93f140000

You’d think it would be 1 (1%) out of 100 who approve of Obama on the economy.

This graph shows two things: (1) The public understands the meaning of “shared sacrifice.” (2) Obama doesn’t.

Obama should announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination. He’d be their absolute best moderate candidate.

Whats the latest Tea Bagger approval number its weird but both parties seem to be doing their best to take a dive its almost like the want a revolution.

I’m with you, I’ll go Green this time. If the Dems had a shred of self-preservation and got behind a real primary challenger from the left, I would reconsider, but it seems highly unlikely.

Nonetheless, it will be interesting to watch how Paul fares on the Rep side. The thing is, I think there is a reason, that the Rep field is pretty much filled with circus midgets… I don’t think the MOTUs want Billion Dollar O to lose and I don’t think any Rep heavy hitters want to sacrifice their future prospects on the altar of Teapots and President Teacup. Meanwhile Paul doesn’t give a damn what the MOTUs or Rep leadership wants, so I’ll enjoy watching him be a thorn in their side as long as he can stay in the game.

I suspect the game plan is to have O win by default, no matter how deeply the economy and the world at large takes a dive. They are keeping up appearances and with no organization willing to pick up the slack and jump in to defend the rights and interests of the middle class, we’ll all be going down on the Billion Dollar Titanic.

Not that I’m pessimistic or anything ; )

I’m not sure he is even a moderate Republican. He probably would be Cantor’s best friend as an R.

True but no GOP Moderate can win the GOP Presidential Primary and Obama is to the Right of Nixon and Reagan now.

“Obummer is running around campaigning in a taxpayer-provided bus”

It’s actually a CANADIAN bus. Obama isn’t serious about jobs for regular folks in the US.

He seems to be Cantor’s best friend, as a D. That lends weight to your speculation.

I can’t stand the guy. Didn’t even vote for him in 2008. That being said I give him points for attempting to revamp the poverty level in a meaningful way(He at least got rid of the notion that food is the largest expense facing Americans) and I can appreciate that his HHS person has said that insurance should be providing birth control and well health exams for women.

Now it may turn out that these things are just gestures like his DOMA stance but I try not to start out the gate completely cynical.

Not that I believe either of the above are a strong enough reason to re elect him.

My first post was incorrect: Obama’s first job out of Columbia University was with Buisiness International Corp. He did do some economics there says Wikipedia:

[edit] Barack Obama: In the late summer of 1983, future United States President Barack Obama interviewed for a job at Business International Corporation. He worked there for “little more than year.”[3] As a research associate in its financial services division, he edited Financing Foreign Operations, a global reference service, and wrote for Business International Money Report, a weekly financial newsletter.[4] His responsibilities included “interviewing business experts, researching trends in foreign exchange, following market developments. . . . He wrote about currency swaps and leverage leases. . . . Obama also helped write financial reports on Mexico and Brazil.[5]

[edit] CIA: The company has been identified as cover organization for the Central Intelligence Agency, e.g. see Lobster Magazine, issue 14 in 1987. According to a lengthy article in the New York Times in 1977, the co-founder of the company told the newspaper that “Eldridge Haynes [the other founder] had provided cover for four CIA employees in various countries between 1955 and 1960″.[6]

I was just goping to post the same question– who are these people, the 25%

And truthfully, heaving aside the remaining fraction of society that is willing to keep making excuses for him (probably the same size as the population of remaining Bush apologists), Obama may genuinely be a fairly rightist figure. I prefer to assess public figures based on what they do, not what they say, and to assume they act deliberately. I don’t think that most people in the country have any representation at this point.

That’s the exact problem – everything has turned out to be just a gesture. Why shouldn’t the Rs stand up and spew crap when the prez does it every day.

I, too, thought George Bush was the absolute worst president in history, not only for lying about WMDs and Iraq, and tax cuts for rich people, but also for the multitude of under the radar things he did, like defunding everything he didn’t like, defanging environmental regulations, and setting up the Great Recession, which of course through no fault of his own, Barack Obama inherited. And I can easily believe that it was far worse than what we were told. But when he surrounded himself with the likes of Larry Summers and Tim Geitner, caving in on everything, caving in on the public option, I was stunned, shocked and awed, and scared silly that here was a guy who had the gift of great oratory and said such great things that we all wanted to hear and believe, became more George Bush than George Bush. It was like he’s been in this contest, and he went right to the top of the chart, and beat George Bush for the title of Worst President in history. He has just totally morphed into something else entirely, something totally different from what he was during the campaign. All he does is kiss ass to the Repugs and the Tea Baggers. He’s the Cavinator.

Obama too has his 27%ers.

At this point, I’m afraid Romney is the best of a very bad set of options that include re-electing Obama.

Pretty depressing.

One of the reasons I didn’t vote for him was because he did these things on the campaign trail and in his past. He strategically voted present for choice(with the approval of womens’ groups sadly enough). He campaigned with an evangelical who called gay a disease while professing he supported the LGBT community. All in all, Obama is a person that wants to have his cake and eat it too. He wants to own all sides of an argument and be viewed as that “reasonable” person by both sides.

It’s who he is.

It’s much more horrible when you hope to see something happen only to have your dreams dashed.

At this point a “hunker down” mentality is all that is left until the country reaches it’s tipping point and acts against the two parties that brought us to this point.

IIt’s so astonishing that they did everything right during the campaign, had it all figured out, and then once in office, he turns into this Republican wannabe. And he doesn’t get it that he’s just not white enough for them. I don’t understand what happened to all those brilliant strategists who choreographed his campaign. He must have fired them all. I just haven’t been able to wrap my brain around the idea that Bipartisanship is the most important thing. Or that the R’s are right about the deficit, and that we have a spending problem, and tax cuts for rich people create jobs. He really needs to get honest about it, and go ahead and run as a moderate Republican, and then truly, we can all not vote for him!!

but markos said its all OK – it really is! If you say otherwise, you’re a FIREBAGGER!!!!!

And if you say otherwise, one of his keyboard goons will flame you and troll rate you – you won’t get any “mojo” at the new site and you will be doomed to pissant status.

If its orange, has to be right, just look at john boner.

How can he win? By preaching that austerity will lead to economic growth! /snark

LOL

kos munchkins

Is that HR ratable? Do they prefer to be called that over obamabot?

Will it lower your “mojo”?

WRONG! They choose not to run any moderate. The teabaggers are NOT a big grassroots movement.

Why would any person on the other side give any credibility to this sham – you are saying the party is controlled by one of the most insignificant groups of Americans out there.

Must watch too much tee-vee…

Well, the “bots” want mo.

So they be Kos Mos.

;~DW

surely there’s a way they’ll spin it so that the numbers seem better than they are…

Well, ya take that 71 and spin it around and you get 17.

Ya take that 26 and spin it around and you get 62.

Everything’s bassackward, anyhoo, so it makes poifect dollars and cents, bluevistas.

;~DW

go back and look at the Sunday diaries at the big orange site – believe it or not, some moron was spinning this gallop poll as a good sign that obama was the hands-down favorite!

This is why I mock them so much today.

Sunday, I had enough of the BS there. You can’t delete your account, so I changed the email to some nonsense (password too, think f*ck you, but I am not loggin’ in again) and I noted my account as disused or some nonsense.

Social Security and Medicare benefits are definitely “entitlements.” Please look up the term in a good dictionary.

In an exercise that would prove Orwell’s point in spades, the Rethugs have turned the perfectly legitimate term into a pejorative. They take advantage of the weak education all too many Americans get these days. Another product of the Rethuglican take-over of American politics and society.

We earned our entitlements by being taxed on them. We are entitled to them. Do not buy into the Rethuglican perversion of the language.

Our side always is playing defense. Yep, it’s called an entitlement because it MUST BE PAID OUT as long as you fit the criteria for the program(the problem being the ever changing criteria, not the program). Veteran’s benefits are entitlements too. It’s a perfect example of the GOP taking a word and twisting it and the left just going along with the negative framing.

“It is hard to imagine how any President can win re-election when the economy is ranked as the top issue by voters and 71 percent of Americans disapprove of the President’s handling of the economy.”

Yes John and its pretty much impossible to imagine how a democratic president can win with those numbers

its a well established political axiom that people vote for democrats because they feel worried about their economic outlook.

Amen, brother/sister. Really, if we can’t win the war of words with the Teabaggers, how can we ever have any hope of really winning “the hearts and minds” of the vast mainstream of people out there who are low-info and barely committed voters?

“god damn ye to hell texas individualism” dosent ever work. whenever some texas govenor cuts taxes in half and threatens to seceede its usually only a matter of a few weeks before they come asking for federal dollars to make up shortfalls. i wonder what would really happen to these faux populist rural-white-anger merchants if the real deal capitalist scum get thier way and implement some REAL austerity….like no more aid to states (except to buy millitary weapons and vehicles for local police departments), and no more running to washington for a loan…i wonder if the faux poulist rage would turn into REAL populist rage, and if that might not be a good thing. like take us back to 1932, which was a good year for “change we could believe in”

You know Jon I haven’t ever heard you say one good thing about President Obama ever. You were dogging him when he was running for President. I know Jane likes you, Why I’m not exactly sure. Did you want Nader ? Did you want Hillary ? You even said Republicans would win in 2008 and that Democrats would blow it. Who do you want in 2012 since it’s clear you don’t want Obama. You might get your wish if these people dogging the President get their way. What you won’t get is PROGRESSIVE POLICIES or even moderate policies if the Republicans win. Maybe that’s what you want but not me and not most Democrats. It makes me wonder if the Koch Brothers are paying you under the table. Are you being financed by the Walton Family. Curious minds want to know.

Wow, one in four?

Didn’t figure we had that many rich got bailed outers and total fucking idiots.

Whocudanode?

What’s funny about that is that I wonder the same thing about anyone still defending Obama.

Who is paying them? Who do they work for?

How can anyone who has been paying even a little bit of attention to what Obama has done even consider him seriously as a candidate again?

I’m sure people are paid to go on sites like this and promote Obama or other candidates but that has to be tough work pimping Obama these days.

#9, only one point of disagreement. Obama is not a moderate Republican, he is a very conservative Republican.

Holy Malokey! He’s a spook!
He doesn’t care about losing because he’ll be pallin’ around with Poppy at Carlyle and selling drones to murderers.
Or, he isn’t worried because the CIA isn’t going to let anyone like Bachmann anywhere near the controls of the energy/military/intelligence nexus.
As for Perry, the Bushes don’t appear to like him, but that could just be a spook trick to cover their tentacles. Perry used to fly stuff here and there during the Vietnam war, there sometimes meaning the ME, a place where Texans and spooks and Texan spooks have long converged for bidnez.

His approval numbers on education should be just as bad. His continuation of high stakes testing and war on teachers has the stench of his failed neoliberal ideology all over them. The man is pathetic. He is a narcissist setting himself up for a big pay out when he leaves office. The man is following the same road to riches Slick Willy did, they are both frauds.

And a placeholder for Jeb Bush- bout time he noses his way in.

Except you’re only entitled to what the government says you are entitled to. If that changes to zero, which the givernment can do, then you’re entitled to nothing. So, more correctly, it is a government- determined entitlement.

True that. But one key way of at least trying to prevent the government from reducing our entitlements is to stop accepting the Rethug meme that entitlements are undeserved.

That is precisely what they have successfully done by pronouncing the word “entitlement” with a sneer and in a context implying, and sometimes expressly stating, that people do not have a right to their “entitlements.” A typically Orwellian contradiction in terms.

We simply cannot walk away from this. We lose the war if we repeatedly retreat from this kind of battle.

The narcissist posture of the Grandiose Bargain is reinforced by public disaproval. Obama is ahead of his time, battling a recalcitrant Congress and an ignorant public that simply do not understand why a deal necessary to put his presidency firmly into the history books is… necessary.

It’s the elected king on his throne, too elevated to be paranoid.
“Yes, I am bullshitting everybody, but am I bullshitting them enough?”

Hey, “angryspittle” looks like you need grammar classes also. I’m surprized @ u, using a doubble negative. It’s ok, I saved a seat for u.
Feel free to correct me anytime u wish. Don’t be angry, be happy!
Or botherway, don’t accept candy from strangers, they are realy DUMMYPILLS.

i’d nevr thought i’d ever could vote Republican again, but Obama has shown me how easy it is. a Far Right Bankster owned lackey versus A Mormon or a Good hair Secessionist!! What choices.

i sincerely hope Obama loses. that ‘ll be the only way any Democratic trust fund like Social Security/not an entitlement/ won’t be completely ripped off.

Obama is far worse than Any Republican i see, even Batshit Crazy Bachmann. She’s honest about being a looney tune. not that i would vote for her. i will vote against Obama, though, no matter who is on the R side., even possibly Bachmann. lol. well, there, i ‘ve said it. i would vote for Bachmann if she was the R against Obama.

though, i do want a Democratic option to be listed, in the ONE party with two sides. Obama just proves that this is a monopoly Party with two bad sides. Which side is worse depends on the Democrat, usually. this time. the Democrat/Obama Republican in all but name/ is far worse than any Republican out there. Even Witcheroo, I am not A Witch, from Delaware. lol

to think i even think Obama is worse than Bush, which is proof that fact is stranger than any fiction i could make up.

Even Bush was “better” than Obama. oh God forgive me for blaspheming like that. lol

Also, correct me if I’m mistaken, but I don’t believe President Clinton was successfully impeached, they tried but failed. Feel free to correct my assumption, please.