But guess what? Pres. Obama has more people disapproving of what he’s done on the debt ceiling negotiations than approving. That’s quite a feat in the face of such Republican fecklessness.
[...] For Republicans, this plan is something close to the best of all possible worlds (sorry, but I do not consider a world in which “Cut, Cap, and Balance” passes to be a possible one): It’s all spending cuts and no revenues. It’s a little plan that denies the Obama administration the political and substantive benefits of a big plan. It’s a multi-part plan — which is more important than people realize — that forces Democrats to take three hard votes between now and the election, and almost ensures that deficit reduction will be an issue in 2013 and beyond. It’s a plan that smartly pockets more than a trillion dollars in spending cuts Democrats can sort-of accept and only then begins a grand bargain process, ensuring that if there’s a grand bargain later, it will cut far deeper into the bone of Democratic priorities. If it passes, Republicans will have escaped these negotiations without making any significant political or policy concessions. – Ezra Klein
So, if you want to know just how badly Pres. Obama has played the debt ceiling talks this is illustrative. Obama fairs much better than Republicans, but more people still disapprove of his handling of the crisis than approve, 48% to 43%. The Republicans look like idiots, while the public thinks their insistence on not raising taxes is a disaster. Meanwhile, in the midst of this scathing review, Pres. Obama serves up entitlements and ignores the leverage he has, which is seen clearly through the public’s wide disapproval of Republican stonewalling.
Americans are unimpressed with their political leaders’ handling of the debt ceiling crisis, with a new CBS News poll showing a majority disapprove of all the involved parties’ conduct, but Republicans in Congress fare the worst, with just 21 percent backing their resistance to raising taxes.
President Obama earned the most generous approval ratings for his handling of the weeks-old negotiations, but still more people said they disapproved (48 percent) than approved (43 percent) of what he has done and said.
[...] Approval drops to 31 percent for the Democrats in Congress, and only 21 percent of the people surveyed said they approved of Republicans’ handling of the negotiations, while 71 percent disapprove.
Even half of the Republican respondents (51 percent) voiced disapproval of how members of their own party in Congress are handling the talks.
While seniors and the less fortunate, including women, pay for Pres. Obama’s compromising capitulation for nothing in return, Republicans are plummeting in their handling of the debt ceiling crisis.
It takes real talent to get the American people to disapprove of what you’re doing more than approve in the face of such Republican ineptitude, but that’s exactly what Pres. Obama has accomplished.
lord preserve us! im sure dems in congress would be “thrilled” to have to vote on cuts to programs in 2012 in abrutal election yr. what kind of party leader would put his folks in that position? and why then should any dem in congress go along with this crap when its they who will hang for it???! oh and have a debt comm. rec list which gets a up or down vote in 2012 sounds real smart. mae senators and house members vote on cutting ss etc months before election day?! come on now. come on.
Maybe at some point we’ll reach the point of critical mass, and enough people from Right and Left will act on their poll “disapproving” opinions. It certainly appears that the number of disaffecteds, a pox on both parties, is growing, though of course, we have a long way to go.
Perhaps the fact that CBS weighted the poll significantly toward the Democrats just might have something to do with Obama’s “favorable” rating. As hotair says, “In fact, the remainder left to the GOP ensures that no reliable conclusions can be made about Republican sentiment, either. A poll of 193 adults — not registered or likely voters — is too small a sample for reliable conclusions about national political currents. This poll is a complete waste of time, and about the only conclusion one can reach is that CBS tried very hard to get a sample that would support its preconceived notions of the debate.”
Oh FU*K OFF will ya?
Krugman said it best in his Friday column in the NYT. These republican’s don’t believe a democrat has a right to be president; therefore, they will not give him what they would give a republican occupant of the oval office. The people of this country must learn this sad truth. These people are authoritarian in nature. They take pledges, they value loyalty over everything else. Sounds like the mafia to me. If we don’t watch out, we’ll all be saying ” Hail the Duce. “
Forget the polls. The republicans are going to get what they want. Mr. Obama will end up signing a short term bill, forcing the issue in front of the voters 3 times prior to election day, without any tax increases and with spending cuts. Democrats get shit.
I’d say that’s a win, win.