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20 Jan 2011 22:52

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Politics: Why have Obama’s approval ratings skyrocketed?

  • 8% jump in Obama’s approval ratings since December
  • The question is, why? It feels like only yesterday that oil was spewing wildly throughout the Gulf Coast, Democrats were getting shellacked in the midterms, and prognosticators were foretelling of a one-term Obama presidency (well, okay, that’s still happening). But the President’s favorability ratings have been surging recently, up to the highest levels since July of ’09. We have three theories as to why.
  • the lame duck sessionIt was controversial to some, but for many Americans, the lame duck session was the first time they got to see members of Congress acting in a truly bipartisan manner. The President took an active role in this, hammering out compromises with GOP leadership. The result was one of the most productive lame duck sessions in our nation’s history. Also, nobody’s taxes went up.
  • A Divided GovernmentIn other words, the Republicans taking back the House. When one party controls the White House, the Senate, and the House, it’s easy to uniformly hate that party for the country’s problems. But with things a little more evenly divided, the President is getting some slack. It’s not necessarily a well-founded reason for liking the President more, but it’s likely a factor.
  • The Tuscon ShootingOkay, okay. We didn’t want to say it, but it’s true: After national tragedies, especially those with a human face, people tend to coalesce around the President. It happened with Bush after 9/11, and it’s happening now. Combine this with a wildly popular speech a few days after the shooting, and you have the recipe for surging approval ratings. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Jan 2011 15:53

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Politics: Arnold Schwarzenegger: I lost $200 million being governor

  • In all it is probably more than $200 million. But I’m not sorry. It was more than worth it.
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger • Explaining the overall cost for him to be the California governor. We’re not exactly sure how that cost breaks down, but we’re guessing it has something to do with the number of movies he had to turn down while playing politician. That said, though, he notes that the bigger cost was what it did to his family. “There is a lot there that needs to be repaired,” he said. He noted that he was better about it in his second term than his first, but during that first term, he would leave home for weeks at a time. At least you weren’t recalled. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jan 2011 20:46

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Politics: Underdog 2012 candidate of the day: Meet The Hermanator

  • From the standpoint of our conservative beliefs and values, Sarah Palin and I are probably identical.
  • Wannabe 2012 nominee Herman Cain (better known as “The Hermanator“) • Emphasizing his desire to become the GOP nominee. Cain, who is black, first drew the attention of political crowds while the CEO of Godfather Pizza, when he successfully got a blow on Bill Clinton’s health-care plan. Since then, he’s done much more in business (he sits on many corporate boards) and entered politics as a late-life hobby. If Cain can get some name recognition out there – he’s trying pretty darn hard – he might just have a shot. He might have a little of that Howard Dean voodoo power, he’s charismatic like Samuel L. Jackson (Joshua Green’s words, not ours), he survived cancer, and that anti-health-care calling card might win over some people. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jan 2011 19:44

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Politics: Boehner not a birther, won’t clamp down on GOPers who are

  • The state of Hawaii has said that President Obama was born there. That’s good enough for me.
  • House Speaker John Boehner • Speaking on the topic of birthers, a topic that found itself in the news today thanks to someone who really likes shouting during a formal recitation of the U.S. Constitution. Despite his own personal feelings on Tea Partiers, don’t expect Boehner to stomp on the political beliefs of his fellow members of Congress, no matter the party: “People come, regardless of party labels, they come with all kinds of beliefs and ideas. It’s the melting pot of America. It’s not up to me to tell them what to think.” Ultimately, we pretty much agree with that sentiment, even if it means a couple of weirdos get in there. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jan 2011 10:43

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Politics: Ninth circle of hell? Michele Bachmann may run for president

  • Nothing is off the table. The congresswoman is excited about her first trip to Iowa this year.
  • Rep. Michele Bachmann’s chief of staff, Andy Parrish • Suggesting that Bachmann may be interested in running for president in 2012. And you thought Sarah Palin was bad … (thanks apsies) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jan 2011 22:42

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Politics: Antonin Scalia: Hates deep-dish, likes helping the Tea Party

  • On the plus side, nobody’s talking about Ginni Thomas anymore. So, Michele Bachmann has convinced our boy Antonin Scalia to have a fireside chat with incoming GOP members of Congress to remind them of the finer points of the constitution. Now, obviously, this is kind of a bad idea because it makes Scalia look like he’s in bed with the Tea Party and conservatives in Congress. But, who cares? This is the guy who’s so traditionalist that he complains about pizza that isn’t made New York-style. Sure, it’s bad judgment, but he doesn’t like deep dish pizza, so his judgment is worthless anyway. (photo by Stephen Masker) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jan 2011 11:20

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Politics: Obama’s optimistic that GOP will be less obstructionist in 2011

  • And so my expectation, my hope is that John Boehner and Mitch McConnell will realize that there will be plenty of time to campaign for 2012 in 2012, and that our job this year is to make sure that we build on the recovery.
  • Barack Obama • Offering up a pretty solid statement of intent for 2011. Obama, whose vacation to Hawaii just ended, says that he expects some playing of politics in 2011 (McConnell has already promised it). “But I’m pretty confident,” he continued, “that they’re going to recognize that our job is to govern and make sure that we are delivering jobs for the American people and that we’re creating a competitive economy for the 21st century, not just for this generation but for the next one.” Wishful thinking? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

03 Jan 2011 10:15

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Politics: Why RNC chairman Michael Steele has no chance of being reelected

  • $20M the amount of debt the RNC will carry into this year – which is massive and will hurt Steele
  • $10M the amount of debt the fiscally-minded RNC will likely carry into the 2012 presidential year
  • $2M the largest amount of debt the RNC has had in a presidential year (in 2000) – until now source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Jan 2011 23:06

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Politics: Max Headroom: Darrell Issa has newfound power, car alarms

  • This guy wants to kill $200 billion in government waste: Rep. Darrell Issa is ready to take a hacksaw to the federal budget in an effort to kill waste in a number of organizations, including the EPA. As the chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Issa will have the power to do just that (along with many other things). Fun fact: Issa is rich because his company invented the Viper car alarm system, which features his voice telling people to get away from your car. We want Issa to do the same thing with wasteful spending. “Step away from the pork!”
  • Liberals: scared of Darrell Issa Not everyone likes the idea of the car alarm dude having this much power. Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the committee, is one of Issa’s fiercest critics, as MSNBC (and this Politico dude with a kinda weird accent) remind us. You can see the fear in their eyes.
  • Libertarian-a-Palooza John Stossel is probably one of the most well-known libertarians who could be called a journalist. Ron Paul is the current face of the libertarian movement. We don’t know the other guy, but he’s libertarian, too. They just keep agreeing with each other. It’s kinda weird.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Jan 2011 21:15

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Politics: House GOP plans useless, ineffective Obamacare repeal vote

  • You’ve seen that the more people learn about Obamacare the less they like it. So we will put forth a clean repeal bill of Obamacare, and you’ll continue to see us make that fight because that’s what the American people want us to do.
  • Rep. Michele Bachmann • Speaking about the House GOP’s plan to vote on a repeal of the health care bill – before the president’s State of the Union later this month. Between this and the reading-the-Constitution thing, the GOP is big on symbolic measures that waste everyone’s time, aren’t they? Then again, the Democrats did something similar with the tax compromise, so maybe we should just hush. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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