How we know he's doing something right
Now, I'm not one who thinks that polls are infallible reflections of the truth, or that polled American people are always right about everything...but the following polls are an awfully good sign.
Republicans have turned on President Obama - what's new? - but, in doing so, they have sided against the American people...and will end up paying dearly in the end.
A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows a high level of popularity for President Obama just one month into his first term...and the high level of confidence that Americans have in his ability to handle the economy vs. that of congressional Republicans is sweet:
"...68 percent of Americans approve of Obama's job performance to date...
...Obama clearly holds the upper hand, both in overall approval and on the dominant issue of the day. He leads the Republicans in Congress by 61-26 percent in trust to handle the economy, the biggest such lead for a president in ABC News/Washington Post polls since late 1991...
...Partisanship, though, seems inescapable: Obama's approval rating, 90 percent among Democrats, dives to 37 percent among Republicans..."
That last 90 to 37 percent bit is how I know he's doing something right.
Here's another poll which says pretty much the same thing:
"President Obama is benefiting from remarkably high levels of optimism and confidence among Americans about his leadership, providing him with substantial political clout as he confronts the nation's economic challenges and opposition from nearly all Republicans in Congress."
Republicans still want to play the same old game...digging in for a long ideological battle. They want to set President Obama up and knock him down, they want him to fall and never get up.
Polls clearly show that Republicans have done nothing to help themselves by opposing the stimulus package...indeed, they look more and more narrow and isolated. They think they can score political points by being obstructionist...but their out of work constituents may surprise them come next election day.
These polls show that Democrats are seen to be on the right side of most issues important to the American people...while Republican ideas are seen as stale, unworkable and undesirable.
President Obama has a strong bond with the public - notice how he nurtures it - they trust him to bring about the changes that are sorely needed. They approve of Obama's honest effort to negotiate with Republicans, and they don't begrudge him one bit that the talks broke down. Many of them voted for him because he promised to offer Republicans a place at the table, to get their input.
Silly Republicans somehow thought that meant they'd have a 50-50 chance in the decision making process and bills written into law.
They seem to forget who won...
