Just 44 percent of those surveyed said they approved of Obama’s performance as president—his lowest rating in the 10 Heartland Monitor polls conducted since April 2009. Likewise, the share of adults disapproving of his performance also reached a high at 50 percent. Those results reversed modest but consistent gains for Obama since his previous low point in the survey in August 2010. In the most recent survey, conducted last May in the aftermath of the Osama bin Laden raid, Obama’s approval rating had edged up to 51 percent, with only 41 percent disapproving.

Equally ominous for the president: 70 percent of those polled in the new survey said that the country was on the wrong track. That’s a sharp increase just since the most recent Heartland Monitor in May—and by far the highest level of dissatisfaction over the country’s direction recorded in any of the 10 polls. (The previous high was 62 percent in August 2010, just before the GOP landslide in the midterm elections that year.) Only one-fifth believed the country was moving in the right direction.
Most political scientists and pollsters agree that, especially in presidential races involving an incumbent, those bottom-line measures—the approval rating and the right-track/wrong-track assessment—are the most powerful predictors of the vote. Obama still has time to regain lost ground, but on both fronts, his position today more resembles the profile of incumbents who were defeated than those who won reelection.

Obama's loss we be even greater the more he embraces the helpless imbeciles in the Occupy Wall Street crowd.

Have you ever seen a more pathetic group of protesters in your life?
It's as if spoiled kids are protesting having to be adults.
A sad commentary on liberalism and the Left have done educating kids.

President Barack Obama's 11th quarter in office was the worst of his administration, based on his quarterly average job approval ratings. His 41% approval average is down six percentage points from his 10th quarter in office, and is nearly four points below his previous low of 45% during his seventh quarter.

As Obama quits hiding his socialist statism he leaves less and less room for centrist or moderate democrats in the party.

More than 50 moderate Democrats were in Congress before the 2010 midterm elections. That number is circling the drain at 22, with more disappearing each day.

Obama's democratic party represents those dependent on government programs and affluent liberals who inherited their station in society or made their mark at the government feeding trough.

The problem is, as the 2010 elections showed, America is a right of center nation and this means doom for Obama's inability to hide his socialists statism the way he did in 2008.

Alright I'm not going to pretend I read this entire thing, but I am going to state some FACTS. And by facts I mean anything that would stand up to challenge under a scientific review. Just saying.

Concerning the government debt; the majority of it, anywhere from 60 to 70 percent of it comes as a result of NO recent president but from past obligations of the US government. Some of these obligations date back to the 1930's and I'm not just talking of Social Security. Due to the downturn in government revenue beginning in 2001, largely as a result of tax cuts, although also due to the fact that the dot-com boom was going to end at some point, borrowing had to be undertaken in order to pay for the programs and activities being taken by the government at that point. The remainder of the US debt is a result, almost entirely, of war costs, stimulus packages (passed by both parties) and further loss of revenue due to economic downturns.

This means that blaming Obama for the debt is pretty ridiculous. Bush and the republican controlled congress deserve some blame for tax cuts and war-related costs (which can be argued as necessary, not an argument I'm going to enter at this point), but even they are largely not to blame for the debt.

Concerning the political alignment of the US populace; while it is true that the populace is essentially centrist, it is a bit more complicated than that. Concerning fiscal and economic policy the populace as a whole lean a little to the right. By this I mean they favor free market philosophy as understood under mainstream economic theory, (Keynes, anti-monopolistic, etc). On the matter of social issues however, the US population, according to scientific polling leans either very slightly or significantly to the left depending on the specific issue. This means that the religious right, due to their economic policies, are in some ways aligned with the US populace. However it would be foolish to assume that given the currently larger significance of economic issues, that rightist candidates would also be able to pass any significant rightist legislation concerning social issues. For evidence look at the most recently elected Florida House and Senate (My state of residence). A number of freshman legislators were elected on platforms of fiscal policy, but as of last December some 47 anti-abortion bills had been proposed by these freshman legislators, while the number of fiscal bills was significantly less. While the polls may not reflect this as of yet, there is significant anger on the ground from both sides of the spectrum over this bait-and-switch.

Who are you posting to Puddle?
I don't see the word "debt" anywhere in my post or any other post in this thread over the last week.
Are you creating a straw man to argue with since what actually was posted just bugged you?

It's not any specific post, at least not looking back at them. But the general tone of the discussion both here and at large has to do largely with the rising US debt and the floundering US economy.

Also I don't see anywhere in my post where I construct a straw man argument, at least not as defined in my most recent logic class.

Your criticism that I'm making points unrelated to the argument may well be correct. As I said I have not read most of this thread. Most discussions I have participated in recently though did deal with what I posted about. Also I think my post is pertinent to the current political discourse.

If I am wrong I welcome any constructive criticism.

Puddle, the general tone of the discussion is how Obama is out of touch with a right centrist country and this is demonstrated clearly by the poll numbers posted throughout the thread.

Please feel free to post poll numbers that show Obama's rising approval ratings.

Please feel free to post endless surveys that show the 2010 midterm elections were a total illusion and that the Democrats are so in touch with the American electorate that they will win back the House and keep the Senate while Obama's reelection is not in question.

Or you can keep posting ambiguous material because you are just pissed at reality.

As far as the "current political discourse" could you be more vague?

The fact that you are taking a "logic class" marks you as an ignorant teenager, and this is exactly what the mute button was created for.

The best of luck to you in life!

lol

Not even gone like a stale fart in the wind? Thats a surprise...

All that the fact that I'm taking Logic classes indicates is that I am a college student, not whether or not I am well informed nor even what my personal politics are.

As far as the 2010 midterm elections go, that was nothing more than an extremely typical reactionary swing among US voters. Republicans admitted that the outcome of those elections did not indicate any sudden sweeping approval of the republican party, merely disapproval of the democrats.

As far as the situation today, the poll numbers for congress, as well as each individual party shows that neither party is doing anything to please the electorate, and I think it very likely that in the coming election you will not see any party come out distinctly ahead but rather a larger number of incumbents voted out.

For the record my major has been Political science. I am changing it to International Relations, but that does not change the fact that my past studies have had almost strictly to due with politics.

A scathing critique of Obama's Reelection chances by Dr. David Hill.

The most recent nationwide public poll was one conducted by Quinnipiac University early last month. It showed 42 percent saying the president deserves reelection while 54 percent say he doesn’t. While this reelect number by itself is not necessarily a doomsday figure, it’s the 54 percent on the con side that’s a killer. Most often, there is a large undecided percentage, but here it’s only 4 . Voters have closed their minds — and the book on this president. It ensures that when Obama faces a Republican nominee, the undecided voters in early polling will eventually vote against an undeserved reelection.

Ouch!

(Reuters) - White House officials bristled on Thursday at the suggestion U.S. power within the G20 had been diminished by budget woes back home, as Europe looked toward an economically self-confident China for help.

Domestic U.S. politics currently rules out any grand financial gesture for Europe by President Barack Obama.

Ouch!

Tettleton, you make very valid points about Obama's failure to do much that has economic sense to it. However, most people aren't as financially minded and intelligent as you, and will just be led on by Obama's charismatic speaches like in '08. Obama's true strength lies in his public speaking prowess and his ability to make people overlook any faults he has. For the 2012 election, I think Obama will win by a 55-45 split. The reasons for this are that 1) He will carry the lower class 2) He will throw the correct Democrats under the bus and 3) He will blame the Congressional deadlock and floundering economy on a Republican Congress (although for his first 2 years, he did have a Democratic majority) I personally am an Independent, so I try to carry no bias. Although this time around, I think I'll vote Republican, assuming they field a solid ticket.

Bill, Your reasoning is valid, but I disagree with it based on the fact that according to polls the undecided factor is the smallest in any recent election I can think of. There isn't anyone left out there for Barack's silver tongue to sway according to the polls I've seen.

Only 4% in a recent poll listed themselves as undecided when the question was approval or disapproval of Obama's job as President.

I got a big smile from your "he will throw the correct Democrats under the bus!"
Now that is a brilliant insight and statement, and it's true too!

I'm informed, but of average intelligence on my best day at my peak moment. I can spot stupidity adroitly though.

Cheers

Obama won't be able to claim to run the most transparent White House ever in 2012 which will contribute to his defeat.

This week the the White House would not cooperate with a subpoena requesting documents related to its doling out a $535 million loan guarantee to now bankrupt solar panel manufacturer Solyndra.

Nothing like blatant hypocrisy to cost you votes Barack.

After Tuesday night's election results Republicans have complete control of state government for only the second time since the Civil War.
Kiss Virginia's electoral votes good-bye Barack.

"Obama has made everything worse and should not be re-elected."

Senator Marco Rubio- Florida

Concise, precise, and boldly accurate.

"You clearly know how to make a persuasive argument, TC" -Me

See, just because it's a quote doesn't necessarily make it true, as I have pointed out with my marvelous quote.

The American Bar Association has secretly declared a significant number of President Obama’s potential judicial nominees “not qualified."

When the ultra liberal ABA declares your nominees "not qualified" then it shows how out of step you our with the country as a hole.

Just another straw breaking the back of Obama's broken down election camel.

The White House has chosen not to nominate any person the bar association deemed unqualified, so their identities and negative ratings have not been made public. But the association’s judicial vetting committee has opposed 14 of the roughly 185 potential nominees the administration asked it to evaluate, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The number of Obama prospects deemed “not qualified” already exceeds the total number opposed by the group during the eight-year administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush; the rejection rate is more than three and a half times as high as it was under either of the previous two presidencies, documents and interviews show.

""You clearly know how to make a persuasive argument, TC" -Me

See, just because it's a quote doesn't necessarily make it true, as I have pointed out with my marvelous quote. "

Well, then. Following the logic of most liberals I've talked to (including Putin), that makes you a racist because Marco Rubio is Latino.

Point of my saying this: accusations of racism such as "doesn't believe all black people are criminals" (from the view of Putin describing Democrats, implying Republicans do) that are empty and only show how little information they actually have.

"Tettleton, you make very valid points about Obama's failure to do much that has economic sense to it. However, most people aren't as financially minded and intelligent as you, and will just be led on by Obama's charismatic speaches like in '08. Obama's true strength lies in his public speaking prowess and his ability to make people overlook any faults he has."

sorry to quote you bill, but i think you make a good point. In my opinion Obama's greatest strength is his ability to make people think he's right. He is able to convince many of the "not-as-well-educated-class" of people that he is right, and will make the most changes in their favor. That's why he is able to get so many votes from the "minorities" who are not so silent for being"minorities". He is a great talker but gets nothing done. people will vote for whoever they think will help them the most, not this country, which is why Obama got elected in the first place. The good thing is people are beginning to see what Obama is doing... nothing. Should be an interesting election for Barack... ;)

Obama's public speaking prowess is taking a hit according to the New Hampshire Union Leader's editorial page.


President Obama fooled New Hampshire voters once. He is unlikely to do it again, especially if he sticks to the fraudulent rhetoric he used on a captive audience of Manchester Central High School students yesterday.

The President’s approval rating is down to 43 percent, according to the latest Gallup poll. It’s there for good reason: people don’t believe his spin anymore. Sadly for the President, and for the country, that’s all he has to offer, as his Central speech showed.

What the President delivered was more of the same: talking points exhausted by over-use. To sell his so-called jobs bill (another stimulus bill that won’t work), he tossed out his standard cliches: Republicans are only for “millionaires and billionaires” and they put “country before party.” Congress should “pass our jobs bill,” which is supported by independent economists and opposed only by corrupt Republicans.

Missing was any sense that this President has listened to the American people since he took office. The people want solutions, not partisan rhetoric and more “stimulus” targeted only to the industries and people the President and his party want to help. They want the unifier President Obama claimed he would be.

“We are not going to have an America in which only a sliver of folks have an opportunity,” the President said. This is what he thinks of America. He agrees with the out-of-touch Occupy Wall Street movement that America is rigged to favor the wealthy, and his No. 1 duty is to “spread the wealth around.”
The President thinks he can’t get his legislation through Congress because the people haven’t heard him clearly. So he travels around the country giving this same speech over and over. But he is failing precisely because they are listening, and they don’t like what they hear. They don’t agree that the problem with their country is that Washington doesn’t do enough to take money from the rich and redistribute it to everyone else. The President is committed to that goal, but the rest of America is not. That isn’t going to change no matter how many speeches he gives.

This headline shows what a disaster Obama is headed for.

Obama Turning to Biden for Help in 3 Key States

Mark those three states in the Republican column.
Game over!