THE OBAMA REPORT
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2013/07/08/obamas-key-nuclear-deal-with-russia/
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/03/blurred-lines-six-countries-that-totally-ignored-obamas-demands/
* Special thanks to: "Fox News", "New York Daily News".
"PRI - Public Radio International" and "The Associated Press".
BLOG POST
by Felicity Blaze
Noodleman
Los Angeles, CA
3.24.14
We’re checking in President Obama again this week! The President continues to slide in the polls
with his worse performance to date! We
have assembled four articles for this task – (1) “Fox
News Poll: Obama Approval Ratings Keeps
Sliding”, (2) “As Obama’s Approval Rating Slips, Democrats Are Avoiding Him” and
(3) “President
Obama Starts This Week’s Trip To Europe In A Country In A Country Where His
Popularity is Huge”.
In all fairness to the President, his poll ratings are not
all his fault but are an indicator of a larger problem with his party’s
ideologies as a whole. Democrats want to
distance themselves from the President but this is ironic since Democrats are
down in the polls as well. The White
House is only a symbol for the disconnect the President and his party have
created in Washington DC.
So what could be the reason behind this unprecedented failure
with Democrats? Washington’s “Business
as Usual” has been disrupted by the Federal Deficit and this is where we turn
for our fourth article this week; “Federal
Budget Deficit To Drop To 514 Billion”. This is only a projection; it has not happened
yet! Let’s face it, the party’s over and
now and it’s time to pay the check.
Democrats have not exactly taken the lead here are seen as dragging
their feet while the Republicans have been in the forefront with real options
for reducing the deficit while holding down new taxes.
We have also collected a few political cartoons to
illustrate our article this week. We
hope you will be entertained while reviewing the news articles we have put
together. Thanks for being with the
“Noodleman Group”!
http://netrightdaily.com/2012/09/democrat-party-platform/
Fox News Poll: Obama Approval Ratings Keep Sliding
Reuters/Landov
Thursday,
06 Mar 2014 06:34 AM
By Elliot Jager
Sixty percent of Americans say the United States is worse off
today than it was when Barack Obama became president, according to the
latest Fox
News poll.
Only 34 percent think the country is better off. The president is also slipping among Democrats. In 2012, 81 percent felt the country was better off; that figure is now 57 percent.
The new poll brought more bad news for Obama. On practically every key issue from the economy and job creation to healthcare and foreign policy, a majority of Americans disapprove of the president's performance.
Statistically, the president has hit a record low in popular opinion this week. The Fox poll shows 54 percent of Americans disapprove of how he has done his job. Less than four in 10 voters — 38 percent — feel positive about his performance. That's down from November 2013, when 40 percent approved.
Most Democrats — 71 percent — continue to support the president. Sixty percent or better of Democrats think the president has basically succeeded in dealing with the country's main challenges, except for governmental transparency, where he gets a 47 percent approval rating.
Independents and Republicans frown on his overall performance, with 28 percent of independents, and 5 percent of Republicans approving of Obama.
On creating jobs, 59 percent of the country believes the White House has basically failed. Regarding his overall handling of the economy, 58 percent give him the thumbs down, with 36 percent approving.
The president said he wanted his administration to be transparent but the poll shows 59 percent think Obama has generally failed on this score.
The administration has invested its political capital in the Affordable Care Act. Overall, though, 59 percent disapprove of the president's handling of healthcare, while 36 percent approve. Asked directly if Obama had mostly succeeded or mostly failed on improving the country's healthcare system, 57 percent say he mostly failed; 36 percent think he has mostly made things better.
The poll shows that 56 percent of Americans disapprove of how the president manages foreign policy, while 33 percent approve. A majority, 59 percent, say he has mostly failed to improve America's image around the globe. That is a new low for the administration which garnered a 39 percent approval and 52 percent disapproval on foreign policy in December.
The president's positives are highest on homeland security. On that subject, 41 percent think his administration has as a rule succeeded. That is still worse than the 52 percent who approved in 2012. Some 48 percent today feel the White House has by and large failed to secure the homeland.
There is also a glimmer of good news for the president on the economy where just 51 percent of Americans think the economy is getting worse: that's down from 55 percent who felt negatively in February 2013.
The poll was conducted between March 2-4 by telephone and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Only 34 percent think the country is better off. The president is also slipping among Democrats. In 2012, 81 percent felt the country was better off; that figure is now 57 percent.
The new poll brought more bad news for Obama. On practically every key issue from the economy and job creation to healthcare and foreign policy, a majority of Americans disapprove of the president's performance.
Statistically, the president has hit a record low in popular opinion this week. The Fox poll shows 54 percent of Americans disapprove of how he has done his job. Less than four in 10 voters — 38 percent — feel positive about his performance. That's down from November 2013, when 40 percent approved.
Most Democrats — 71 percent — continue to support the president. Sixty percent or better of Democrats think the president has basically succeeded in dealing with the country's main challenges, except for governmental transparency, where he gets a 47 percent approval rating.
Independents and Republicans frown on his overall performance, with 28 percent of independents, and 5 percent of Republicans approving of Obama.
On creating jobs, 59 percent of the country believes the White House has basically failed. Regarding his overall handling of the economy, 58 percent give him the thumbs down, with 36 percent approving.
The president said he wanted his administration to be transparent but the poll shows 59 percent think Obama has generally failed on this score.
The administration has invested its political capital in the Affordable Care Act. Overall, though, 59 percent disapprove of the president's handling of healthcare, while 36 percent approve. Asked directly if Obama had mostly succeeded or mostly failed on improving the country's healthcare system, 57 percent say he mostly failed; 36 percent think he has mostly made things better.
The poll shows that 56 percent of Americans disapprove of how the president manages foreign policy, while 33 percent approve. A majority, 59 percent, say he has mostly failed to improve America's image around the globe. That is a new low for the administration which garnered a 39 percent approval and 52 percent disapproval on foreign policy in December.
The president's positives are highest on homeland security. On that subject, 41 percent think his administration has as a rule succeeded. That is still worse than the 52 percent who approved in 2012. Some 48 percent today feel the White House has by and large failed to secure the homeland.
There is also a glimmer of good news for the president on the economy where just 51 percent of Americans think the economy is getting worse: that's down from 55 percent who felt negatively in February 2013.
The poll was conducted between March 2-4 by telephone and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/economy-healthcare-foreign-policy-Obama/2014/03/06/id/556368/
http://skydancingblog.com/2010/12/04/would-a-serious-primary-challenge-force-obama-to-move-left/
As Obama's Approval Rating Slips, Democrats Are Avoiding Him
Dems dodge Obama, whose
approval rating is the worst since his election, according to a new poll.
BY DAN FRIEDMAN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday,
February 24, 2014, 10:21 PM
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Democrats are avoiding President
Obama, who received a negative approval rating in a new poll taken by the Star
Tribune newspaper in Minnesota.
WASHINGTON
— When President Obama goes abroad, world leaders come
to meet him. When Obama travels at home these days, members of his own party
often avoid him.
When Obama speaks
Wednesday in St. Paul, Minn., on the economy, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.)
"hopes he can join the President," a spokesman for the former
funnyman said. "But it's uncertain if his schedule will allow for travel
since the Senate is in session."
"Maybe out of an
abundance of caution Franken is hesitating to be in the state," said
prominent political handicapper Stuart Rothenberg.
Minnesota is a
liberal state by national standards. But a poll this month by the state's Star
Tribune newspaper found Obama's approval rating there had for the first time
turned negative. Half of Gopher State respondents disapproved of Obama's
performance while 43% approved, his worst marks since his election.
Nationally, Democrats
hold 55 Senate seats to Republicans' 45. But most contested Senate races
feature Democratic incumbents running states Obama didn't carry.
JOSÉ MÉNDEZ/EPA
World leaders are happy to meet President
Obama when he travels abroad. But at home, Democrats are staying away from the
president as his approval rating slips. In this photo, Obama is seen with
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto (center) and Canadian Prime Minister
Stephen Harper (right) on Wednesday.
That means Obama's
relative unpopularity is a key factor in handicappers' belief that Republicans
have better-than-even odds of winning back Senate control this year.
If the President’s a
political liability in Minnesota, it's a no-brainer for Democrats to keep their
distance from Obama in key battleground states such as Alaska, Arkansas,
Louisiana, Montana and North Carolina, where Democrats need to hang onto seats
to keep control of the Senate.
The same applies in
Georgia and Kentucky, states where Democrats hope to gain seats. Obama lost all
those states in 2012.
"I stand in
stark contrast to the President in many of his ideas and platforms,"
Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Kentucky Democratic Secretary of State hoping to
oust powerful Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell this year, told MSNBC on
Monday in explaining that she doesn't want Obama campaigning with her.
HANNAH FOSLIEN/AP
President Obama walks with, from left,
Sen. Amy Klobuchar,
D-Minn., Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., and Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, upon his
arrival at the Minneapolis St. Paul Airport on Monday, Aug. 15, 2011. These
days, however, Democrats are avoiding Obama, who received a negative approval
rating in a new poll.
The President's
popularity is the most important factor in midterm congressional election,
pollsters say. Voters focus on him, even though he's not on the ballot.
Democrats in states
that tend to vote Republican in national races win by localizing the election
and distancing themselves from the national Democratic Party. That means
avoiding Obama.
Last month,
Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, who is in a fight for a second term, said she
couldn't get away from Washington to join Obama when he spoke in Raleigh, N.C.
In November,
Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) claimed a prior engagement in the state
kept her from joining Obama at a New Orleans event.
JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS
President Obama makes remarks before the
2014 Governors' Dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House in
Washington on Sunday. In a new poll taken in Minnesota, half the respondents
disapproved of Obama's performance. His falling approval rating has Democrats
ducking him.
Sen. Mark Begich
(D-Alaska) has said he is "not really interested in campaigning with
Obama." Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) said last year that he won't ask Obama to
campaign for him because the President "just doesn't offer a lot to states
like Arkansas."
In House races, too,
lawmakers in the swing districts where national parties are focusing resources
will generally decline a public POTUS embrace. The National Republican
Congressional Committee next week plans to publicly press two dozen Democrats
they hope to defeat on campaigning with Obama.
Obama gets all of
this. Sources said he told Senate Democrats at a meeting last month that he
would not be offended if he is not asked this year to visit states where he is
unpopular.
Instead, Obama will
concentrate on the big area where he can help his party: fundraising. Democrats
may duck Obama on the trail, but they need the access to the big money a
sitting President can raise.
"Democrats are
happy to have Obama raise money for them." Rothenberg said. "They
just don't want to be in photos or videos with him."
dfriedman@nydailynews.com
http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/barackobama/ig/Barack-Obama-Cartoons/Obama-s-Two-Modes.htm
President
Obama Starts This Week's Trip To Europe In A Country Where His Popularity Is Huge
PRI's The World
Producer David Leveille
March 23, 2014 · 12:30 PM EDT
Credit: Nuclear Security Summit
The first Nuclear Security Summit
was held in Washington, 2010.
Obama has a packed
week ahead dealing with nuclear security, rallying European leaders to respond
to Russia and even meeting with Pope Francis. And while his approval rating in
the US was 48 percent in a Friday poll, he's starting his trip in a
nation where that number is likely much higher: the Netherlands.
On Monday, he attends the Nuclear Security
Summit in The Hague, a series of meetings that Obama launched to reduce the
threat of nuclear terrorism.
"We are very much a strong ally of
USA," says historian Willem Post of the Clingendael, a Dutch institute for international
relations. President Obama's approval ratings may dip in the US, but not
in the Netherlands, he says. The president will get a very, very warm
welcome.
"These countries in Western Europe are
really Obama countries," Post says. "I think that has to do with the
fact that this is a US president who calls himself a global citizen [and urges]
diplomacy first. That's a little bit different than in the Bush era. And
here this Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague is a multi-lateral phenomenon
and one of the top priorities of the president. So people see this is Obama
once again stressing diplomacy and saying ‘let's do it together.’"
Post says neither the NSA surveillance revelations
nor the crisis in Ukraine has soured the sympathetic Dutch view toward
Obama.
One reason for this support, suggests Post, is
that many of the Dutch understand Obama's challenges. The Netherlands has a Tea
Party-like movement, he says, where Geert Wilders is the right wing populace
leader in the Netherlands and is in the opposition.
"He's quite a phenomenon," Post
says. "So in the Netherlands, a lot of people understand what the
challenge is for the President Obama in the US in this very politicized, polar
climate. People understand how complicated the road is."
As a small country, the Netherlands also feels
vulnerable. Obama's approach, argues Post, of admitting that the US doesn't
have unlimited power and wanting to work with Europe on a unified approach to
problems is a big part of Obama's appeal.
"There's even an Obama Club in the
Netherlands," he says, "the first Obama club in the world, the
largest," where members get together for serious discussions of foreign
policy issues, diversity, and multi-lateralism — all key points of Obama's
presidency.
Monday begins the Nuclear Security Summit,
where delegations from 53 countries will discuss how to secure nuclear
materials and prevent their use by terrorists. Obama has called for a meeting
of the G7 members during the Netherlands visit to discuss a united approach to
Russia's annexation of the Crimea. He will also meet with Chinese leader
Xi Jinping, before moving on to Amsterdam and a visit to NATO headquarters.
He will then head to Rome for a meeting with
Pope Francis. And he'll end his trip in Saudi Arabia, where he will be
discussing the Syrian crisis.
Obama will get at least a
touch of tourism while in the Netherlands. He plans to visit Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum for a look at Rembrandt van Rijn's newly illuminated and exhibited
masterpiece, "The Night Watch." And Willem Post hopes he
will have time to drop in on the Obama club to greet his fans.
Credit: Rijksmuseum Amsterdam via Wikimedia Commons
The Night Watch, Rembrandt
(1606–1669), Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-03-23/president-obama-starts-weeks-trip-europe-country-where-his-popularity-huge
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2008/07/cartoonists_take_their_pokes_a.html
Federal Budget Deficit To Drop To $514 Billion
© Jason Reed / Reuters/Reuters
The Congressional Budget
Office’s Tuesday report found that the 2014 deficit will be the lowest since
President Obama took office in 2009.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tuesday, February 4,
2014, 11:55 AM
Jason Reed /
Reuters/Reuters
The 2014 deficit
projection fell from $680 billion in 2013.
A
new report released Tuesday says the government’s budget deficit is set to fall
to $514 billion for the current year, down substantially from last year and the
lowest by far since President Barack Obama took office five years ago.
The
Congressional Budget Office report credits higher tax revenues from the
rebounding economy and sharp curbs on agency spending as the chief reason for
the deficit’s short-term decline.
But
CBO sees the long-term deficit picture worsening by about $100 billion a year
through the end of the decade because of slower growth in the economy over the
coming decade than it had previously predicted.
Last
year’s deficit registered $680 billion. Obama inherited an economy in crisis
and first-ever deficits exceeding $1 trillion. The 2009 deficit, swelled by the
costs of the Wall Street bailout, hit a record $1.4 trillion, while the
deficits of 2010 and 2011 both registered $1.3 trillion.
The
report predicted the economy will continue to rebound this year and grow at a
3.1 percent rate and by 3.4 percent next year. It foresees the jobless rate
holding steady at 6.8 percent this year; the most recent nationwide
unemployment rate registered 6.7 percent. It predicts the jobless rate
remaining above 6 percent through the remainder of Obama’s term.
CBO
sees the deficit sliding to $478 billion next year before beginning a steady
rise years through 2024 that would bring deficits back above $1 trillion a
year.
“CBO
expects that economic growth will diminish to a pace that is well below the
average seen over the past several decades,” the report said, citing an aging
population and decrease in the rate of growth in the labor force.
As
it has for many years, CBO predicts the stark demographics of the nation’s
retirement programs, especially the growth of Medicare, would eventually spark
a debt crisis.
Economists
say that too-high deficits and debt are a drag on the economy and squeezing out
investment and, if unchecked, could eventually precipitate a European-style
fiscal crisis.
The
agency also predicts that the new health care law will have a dampening effect
on employment, in part because of “Obamacare’s” dampening effect on wages, but
also because the law’s subsidies would give some people less incentive to work.
By 2017, CBO believes there will be 2 million fewer workers.
Tuesday’s
report comes as Obama and Republicans in Congress are taking a respite in the
budget wars that have periodically consumed Washington since Republicans took
control of the House in 2011. The declining deficit numbers mean there’s even
less urgency to act now.
A
December budget agreement and last month’s follow-up spending bill promise to
buy peace through November’s mid-term elections. Republicans also appear to be
taking a less confrontational approach to legislation needed this month to
increase the government’s borrowing limit to avoid defaulting on its
obligations.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/federal-budget-deficit-drop-514-billion-article-1.1601636
http://www.commonsenseevaluation.com/tag/deficit/#sthash.ulnXuqrS.dpbs
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