Good News: Only 30% of Americans Blame Obama For The Economy

Considering that across the country at Republican townhalls, people are waking up to the idiocy that is the Republican party as they try to sell Rep. Paul Ryan's budget proposal, comes this bit of good news vis politicususa.com:

A new McClatchy/Marist poll found that Americans still aren’t blaming Obama for the economy. 63% of those surveyed said that Obama inherited the economy, while only 30% blamed him.

The McClatchy/Marist poll found that a majority of registered voters are dissatisfied with how Obama has handled the economy. 57% disapprove of how Obama has dealt with the economy and only 40% approve. Dissatisfaction with Obama’s economic leadership has caused his approval rating on this issue to drop by 12 points among Democrats to 71%. 63% of Independents disapprove of the President’s handling of the economy.

These numbers appear to be bad news for Obama until this little stunner is thrown into the mix. Only 30% of registered voters blamed Obama and his policies for the economy. 63% of those surveyed still believe that he inherited the crisis from George W. Bush. In a nutshell, this one little number explains why the Republicans are going struggle to defeat Obama in 2012 based on the economy.

[...] It is going to be difficult for the Republican presidential nominee to argue against Obama’s handling of the economy when a vast majority of voters still believe that it was the Republicans who got the country into this mess in the first place. The GOP nominee will bash Obama on the economy, but if that nominee goes on to advocate a solution that is nothing more than a return to the Bush era policies, and voters will say, “But that’s how we got here,” and then flock back to Obama.

No matter how much the Republicans try to make America forget, the lingering presence of the Bush years still hangs over the heads of many voters. The dilemma for Republicans is that they must find a way to capitalize on the displeasure with Obama’s economic performance without reminding voters of in any way of George W. Bush. Any Republican solutions that were already tried during the Bush era are going to open up the GOP nominee to comparisons to George W. Bush.

The Republican nominee is going to have to first run against his/her own party’s history of economic destruction before he/she can challenge Obama’s.

So you tell me: where are you on this? Do you approve or disapprove of the president's handling of the economy? And, just how much of this is a factor on your decision to vote for him in 2012? What could he have done differently? Lastly, do you see the GOP controlling the narrative enough to shift blame to the current administration for the current state of the economy?

52% of Americans Approve of Barack Obama's Handling of Race Relations

I'm kinda fatigued by all the polling data that's released everyday as it relates to president Obama. But this information I thought to be quite interesting to share because it involves race. And as an expert professional racism chaser, unlike some of you, I'm interested in just how people view him in all our "post-racial" glory:

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Barack Obama's 52% approval rating for handling race relations is the only issue among 13 tested in two recent Gallup polls for which the president receives majority-level approval. In fact, a majority disapprove of the job the president is doing on eight of these issues, with his worst scores for his handling of immigration and the federal budget deficit. (source)

According to polling results, 52% asked approved of the way Barack Obama is handling race relations, while 38% disapproved. I'm really not sure if this is a good, or a bad thing; however, there's some irony to this being the only area to receive a majority approval, given the climate of racial and political resentment.

As with any poll, I'm always curious to know just who the respondents were. More specifically, I think it would be interesting - at least in the interest of race relations - that a conversation with said respondents could be expanded. I'd like to know just exactly what in their opinion(s) is he doing, or not doing right.

Is the fact that he rarely speaks on, or totally ignores racially sensitive issues outside of some poor black guy being wrongfully arrested in his home, an indicator of him doing a "good job" with race relations?

Some black folks will tell you that he does a disservice to the black community with his deafening silence on issues that directly impact the black community. Conversely, there are some white folks who believe him to be racist, by showing preferential treatment to blacks in America.

As a black man who happens to be America's first black president, is Barack Obama specially obligated to speak on, or advance a conversation on the most polarizing issue, that is race relations in America?

So which side of the fence are you on? Do you approve or disapprove of Obama's handling of race relations?  Is the president living up to the expectation of him transcending the racial construct in America?

Even if he fails miserably at everything else, when it's all said and done, as a country, would race relations be better when he's long gone? What are your thoughts on how president Barack Obama has handled race relations?

Government Seen as a Threat to Individual Rights: Don't Tread on me Mr. Obama!

I don't necessarily trust polling data because I think for the most part people tell you what they think you wanna hear. But at any rate they're always an interesting snapshot of just how people were thinking at the time; especially when considering the political climate. So here's the results of a recent poll taken by the folks over at Rasmussen, on just how Americans feel about government being a threat to our constitutional rights:

WASHINGTON, June 24 (UPI) – Nearly half of U.S. adults view the government as a threat to, not a protector of, individual rights, a Rasmussen poll released Thursday indicates.

Forty-eight percent of adults said they saw the government as a threat, compared with 37 percent who said they believed the opposite, Rasmussen said. Fifteen percent of survey respondents said they were undecided.

Most Republicans, 74 percent, said they thought the government threatened individual rights, while 51 percent of respondents not identifying a party affiliation expressed the same view. Sixty-four percent of Democrats regard the government as a protector of rights.

Additionally, most Americans -- 52 percent -- said they thought it was more important for the government  to protect individual rights than to promote economic growth, the poll indicated. Thirty-one percent of respondents said promoting economic growth is more important.

Results are based on a nationwide survey of 1,000 adults conducted June 18-19. The margin of error is 3 percentage points. (source)

OK, so do you see what I mean about not trusting respondents? Isn't it interesting that the majority of the Republicans respondents are of the belief that government poses a threat to our rights? Yep, the very same people who more than likely supported the last administration as they all but stripped us butt-naked and gave us all anal probes while we sat in the comfort of our own homes.

But lemme guess, there's a Kenyan-born Muslim with the ability to dance on beat better than 99% of them now occupying the White House, so obviously our individual rights are in jeopardy. Which is really funny because ours is a nation founded on Christianity where God gave all men inalienable rights. That said, why then should anyone feel that the government is a threat against our individual rights?

But this is America, you have the right to be a hypocrite I suppose:



QUESTION: Is government as a threat to your individual rights?

JOHN McCAIN: SHORT ARMS WITH DEEP POCKETS

Well John Boy, there's less than a week before Americans cast their votes. From the looks of it, you're getting your ass handed to you. Which really makes me question the whole "we got 'em right where we want 'em" bullshit statement you made last week. What's up with that?

You love getting your ass kicked? Are you the oldest member of "Fight Club" who just happens to like getting beat up by black men? Trust me John, I know some white people who get off on stuff like that. If you are, I gotta give you credit for not carving a "B" in your face. I mean, I know you're a war hero and you've been through way much more torture than the thought of having a black man beat you. But lets be honest John Boy, with this loss, you'll be 0-3 in the bid to become president. And as you continuously say on the campaign trail...you have the scars to prove it.

Yeah, I know, this was supposed to be your year; hell all your republican opponents all but gave up their bids so you were the man. But you never counted on the Black guy being able to raise as much money now did you. Yeah, there was no way in hell that the Black guy would have been a problem for you. You underestimated him. Not shocking actually, its the same thing your beloved military did when they went into Vietnam, and more recently, that place in the middle east that will soon be beach front property once they pull out.

But like a good military strategist, you needed a surge to win. So what did you do? You decided against your own idea to run an admirable, and clean campaign. You resorted to having to appeal to the idiots who support you instead of the intellectuals who have now abandoned you. And look at you now. Your divisive motivated campaign tactics have backfired on you. Now there's beef between you the war hero, and the airhead beauty queen you have as a running mate. Sorry John Boy, but thats not a good look at this stage in the game. It sends a bad message to your supporters and frankly, to the rest of the world. Oh you don't think the world is watching? Well they are, and you don't look too good in their eyes.

So now you're relegated to having to defend states that were Bush strongholds. Not a bad strategy, but its a shame that this is what you're about right now. You're the white guy John, and you should be way ahead. But instead, you're falling behind daily, and falling behind pretty badly. The way I see it John, its not too late for you to pull an upset. If you do, it would restore the faith the American people may have ever had in you. Lets be honest, they look to you as the defender of Americanism, and as a champion in the fight to keep the black man down. Its just too bad for you that you guys haven't been able to dig up that elusive Barack Obama sex tape with Paris Hilton since he's a celebrity and all.

So John, here we are, the two minute warning has already been sounded, and yes, its the fourth quarter. For any inexperienced team, this would have the makings of a disaster. But not you John. You've been here before remember? Instead of running around from state to state like a chicken with its head cut off. What you need to do is simple. You need to start kissing Black babies John. Yes you do. And you need to be sure that there's plenty of photographers around when you do. Hell, you could even do it in front of Joe The Plumbers house even. Trust me, kissing Black babies would make you look less like the grumpy ol' troll who lives under the bridge. You'll be more likable. Kinda like the guy we saw at that benefit in New York cracking jokes recently.

I'm not saying that kissing Black babies are gonna win you black votes at this stage of the game. Hell no, its too late for that son! It will however help you after you lose. When you become the laughing stock of all white America for losing to the Black guy after invoking racial hate into your campaign, you can always say that you at least took the opportunity to kiss some Black babies. And for that, even in your loss, you'll more than likely receive your reward in heaven. Just ask those evangelicals on the right who support you. They'll tell you that I'm right.

Goodnight John Boy.