Zogby: Voters Might be Tuning Obama Out

Pollster John Zogby updates our weekly Obama Report Card with a grade on the president's performance. Zogby uses his polling, expert analysis and interaction with major players to come up with a grade and some comments that capture how he sees the president's week ending.
John Zogby on Week: 135
"Both the stock market and President Obama's poll numbers are tanking. So Obama has gone into campaign mode, and even threw some light jabs at the Republicans. Meanwhile, the new GOP candidate to beat, Rick Perry, opened his campaign with wild haymakers that draw cheers from the Republican right, but not from mainstream voters who may have qualms about electing another governor from Texas. Rep. Michele Bachmann won the high visibility, low impact Ames, Iowa Straw Poll, thus providing another welcome diversion from the pickle Obama is in. Obama promises a speech on jobs next month, but one wonders if his words are losing their power with voters. At least he is getting ahead of the curve, as elite and popular opinion now seem to realize that spending cuts and deficit reduction should not be our highest priorities with jobs scarce and demand stagnant. Obama was elected as a new FDR. Now he must answer whether his role model will be Harry Truman in 1948 or Jimmy Carter in 1980."
 
 

Obama Fights Broken System but it May Be the Wrong Fight

President Obama has often been characterized as stoic, professorial, and cool-headed. But in a speech yesterday, the Commander-in-Chief betrayed rare signs of genuine anger at the staunch partisanship.
In a speech at a hybrid car battery plant in Holland, Mich., the president vented his frustrations at a deeply divided government. Obama railed against what he sees as "the worst kind of partisanship, the worst kind of gridlock," which he said "has undermined public confidence and impeded our efforts to take the steps we need for our economy." "You hear it in my voice. I'm frustrated," he said. The clear message was that voters should not place blame for the nation's economic turmoil squarely on the president himself. Nevertheless, while the nation's economic woes cannot be wholly blamed on the president, he may be doing his reelection chances more harm than good in maintaining the focus on the broken political system.

[See why 2012 might be a bigger "wave" election than 2010.] 
 
 
The misstep may be in putting too much emphasis on problems and not solutions. "He certainly is trying to flip [partisan rancor] to his advantage and say, 'See? Isn't this kind of pathetic? This is the best we can do.' ... In uncertain times, people want a positive, decisive figure in the White House," says Steven Schier, professor of political science at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. Bemoaning the state of the national discourse—rightly or wrongly—makes Obama sound a lot like President Carter, who famously diagnosed a national crisis of confidence during another recession. "This sounds too rhetorically similar to the malaise speech of Carter in 1979," says Schier. "The risk you run by emphasizing the negative like that is that people think that you are not able to lead them out of this problem."
That is, of course, not the intended effect. Democratic strategist Andres Pineda says that the president's strategy appears to be two-fold. First, Obama is showing voters that he identifies with their anger and frustration at lawmakers' stubbornness. Second, though limited by a divided Congress, he is trying to use what power he has to push Congress to action. "He has a bully pulpit that no other figure in America has, and so he's trying to use that pulpit to get both parties to move," says Pineda. "And he's trying to set this up in such a way that they recognize that it's in their self-interest to move. Otherwise, the anti-incumbency fervor will hurt everybody in 2012."
That fervor is already taking its toll. Public approval of Congress is at historic lows. Earlier this week, polling firm Gallup reported that only 21 percent of registered voters believe that most members of Congress deserve reelection. Gallup also reports that the president's approval rating is at a weak 41 percent.
[Read about why the Fed is feeling the heat.]
To turn that tide, tackling the nation's employment problem is job one. After dropping as low as 8.8 percent in March, the unemployment rate again trended upward in the spring and summer and now sits at 9.1 percent. Since the White House and Congress succeeded in raising the debt ceiling, the White House has touted its pivot to jobs. But in pivoting, it continues to stress the federal government's partisan divisions. "The only thing preventing these bills from being passed is the refusal of some folks in Congress to put the country ahead of party," Obama said. "There are some in Congress right now who would rather see their opponents lose than see America win."
While Congress has certainly stalled or blocked many bills put forward this session, to dwell instead on continuing to push ahead is poor leadership, says Schier, and may be detrimental to the president's political career. "He's got to pivot off of that and stop reminding people of their disgust with what just happened. [He needs to] turn the page, have positive, resolute, optimistic messages combined with proposals that can credibly be argued, as well address the jobs problem."
Of course, it may be that calling Congress out is the best and only option that the president has at this point. In Pineda's mind, the president has performed a simple calculation: "This is the one thing that I can do that has a good chance of improving my own political standing, but it's also the only thing that will improve the likelihood that government will start working and things will get better."

Republicans reaching out to Obama before jobs speech

WASHINGTON – Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress returned from five weeks at home Tuesday pledging to seek bipartisan compromises with President Obama on the economy and jobs.

House Republican leaders wrote Obama to suggest areas of potential agreement, ranging from changes in highway spending and construction permitting to new ways of helping the long-term unemployed.

At the same time, Senate Democratic leaders said they would move ahead with changes that would make it easier for entrepreneurs to get patents and extend highway spending through next January.

The initial efforts at compromise indicated that lawmakers heard a message from constituents in August: Quit bickering and work together.

Obama is expected to propose $300billion in federal spending and tax cuts Thursday night during his address to a joint session of Congress, the Associated Press estimated. The proposals could include a one-year extension of a payroll tax cut for workers plus an extension of expiring unemployment benefits.

In their letter to Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor wrote, "While it is important that we continue to debate and discuss our different approaches to job creation … we should not approach this as an all-or-nothing situation."

The two Republican leaders requested a bipartisan leadership meeting with Obama before his Thursday address. White House press secretary Jay Carney said there has been broad consultation already.

"Consultations and preparations for his jobs and growth package were wide-ranging, both inside and outside the administration," Carney said. "And the ideas the president collected helped inform him as he made his decisions for this package."

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Boehner, said Republicans "have had no opportunity to be consulted by the White House at all on the jobs plan."

In the weeks leading up to his speech, Obama has called on lawmakers to "put country before party" by compromising on policies that can put Americans to work. On Monday in Detroit, he said, "We're going to see if we've got some straight shooters in Congress."

His list of potential bipartisan initiatives includes passing free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. Those deals have been stalled by disagreements over federal aid for workers who lose their jobs.

Obama also has called for action on patents, highway spending and other issues that enjoy some bipartisan support.

In a sign of potential progress, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid is set to meet with Boehner today on the trade deals; the Senate plans to vote on patents in time for Obama's speech Thursday; and a key Senate committee will vote on a four-month extension of highway and mass transit spending.

Other initiatives will be tougher to resolve. Obama is likely to seek new federal spending on infrastructure projects — something Republicans who opposed the president's two-year, $825 billion economic stimulus plan in 2009 oppose.

"Achieving bipartisan agreement on these and other initiatives requires more than just one side declaring a proposal to be 'bipartisan,'" Boehner and Cantor wrote. "It requires that we work together."

The Republican leaders suggested doing away with a requirement that 10% of highway spending be set aside for "enhancements" such as educational activities and historical preservation. They noted Obama recently said Washington should "give states more control over the projects that are right for them."

The Republican leaders' letter came a day after Obama, in a Labor Day speech, said he would challenge them to back a package of jobs programs that had bipartisan support in the past.

That message didn't sit well with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

He said Obama's "central message" was that "anyone who doesn't rubber-stamp his economic agenda is putting politics above country."

"There's a much simpler reason for opposing your economic proposals that has nothing to do with politics," McConnell said. "They don't work."

Republicans reaching out to Obama before jobs speech

WASHINGTON – Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress returned from five weeks at home Tuesday pledging to seek bipartisan compromises with President Obama on the economy and jobs.

House Republican leaders wrote Obama to suggest areas of potential agreement, ranging from changes in highway spending and construction permitting to new ways of helping the long-term unemployed.

At the same time, Senate Democratic leaders said they would move ahead with changes that would make it easier for entrepreneurs to get patents and extend highway spending through next January.

The initial efforts at compromise indicated that lawmakers heard a message from constituents in August: Quit bickering and work together.

Obama is expected to propose $300billion in federal spending and tax cuts Thursday night during his address to a joint session of Congress, the Associated Press estimated. The proposals could include a one-year extension of a payroll tax cut for workers plus an extension of expiring unemployment benefits.

In their letter to Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor wrote, "While it is important that we continue to debate and discuss our different approaches to job creation … we should not approach this as an all-or-nothing situation."

The two Republican leaders requested a bipartisan leadership meeting with Obama before his Thursday address. White House press secretary Jay Carney said there has been broad consultation already.

"Consultations and preparations for his jobs and growth package were wide-ranging, both inside and outside the administration," Carney said. "And the ideas the president collected helped inform him as he made his decisions for this package."

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Boehner, said Republicans "have had no opportunity to be consulted by the White House at all on the jobs plan."

In the weeks leading up to his speech, Obama has called on lawmakers to "put country before party" by compromising on policies that can put Americans to work. On Monday in Detroit, he said, "We're going to see if we've got some straight shooters in Congress."

His list of potential bipartisan initiatives includes passing free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. Those deals have been stalled by disagreements over federal aid for workers who lose their jobs.

Obama also has called for action on patents, highway spending and other issues that enjoy some bipartisan support.

In a sign of potential progress, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid is set to meet with Boehner today on the trade deals; the Senate plans to vote on patents in time for Obama's speech Thursday; and a key Senate committee will vote on a four-month extension of highway and mass transit spending.

Other initiatives will be tougher to resolve. Obama is likely to seek new federal spending on infrastructure projects — something Republicans who opposed the president's two-year, $825 billion economic stimulus plan in 2009 oppose.

"Achieving bipartisan agreement on these and other initiatives requires more than just one side declaring a proposal to be 'bipartisan,'" Boehner and Cantor wrote. "It requires that we work together."

The Republican leaders suggested doing away with a requirement that 10% of highway spending be set aside for "enhancements" such as educational activities and historical preservation. They noted Obama recently said Washington should "give states more control over the projects that are right for them."

The Republican leaders' letter came a day after Obama, in a Labor Day speech, said he would challenge them to back a package of jobs programs that had bipartisan support in the past.

That message didn't sit well with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

He said Obama's "central message" was that "anyone who doesn't rubber-stamp his economic agenda is putting politics above country."

"There's a much simpler reason for opposing your economic proposals that has nothing to do with politics," McConnell said. "They don't work."

Zogby: Voters Might be Tuning Obama Out

Pollster John Zogby updates our weekly Obama Report Card with a grade on the president's performance. Zogby uses his polling, expert analysis and interaction with major players to come up with a grade and some comments that capture how he sees the president's week ending.
John Zogby on Week: 135
"Both the stock market and President Obama's poll numbers are tanking. So Obama has gone into campaign mode, and even threw some light jabs at the Republicans. Meanwhile, the new GOP candidate to beat, Rick Perry, opened his campaign with wild haymakers that draw cheers from the Republican right, but not from mainstream voters who may have qualms about electing another governor from Texas. Rep. Michele Bachmann won the high visibility, low impact Ames, Iowa Straw Poll, thus providing another welcome diversion from the pickle Obama is in. Obama promises a speech on jobs next month, but one wonders if his words are losing their power with voters. At least he is getting ahead of the curve, as elite and popular opinion now seem to realize that spending cuts and deficit reduction should not be our highest priorities with jobs scarce and demand stagnant. Obama was elected as a new FDR. Now he must answer whether his role model will be Harry Truman in 1948 or Jimmy Carter in 1980."
 
 

Obama Fights Broken System but it May Be the Wrong Fight

President Obama has often been characterized as stoic, professorial, and cool-headed. But in a speech yesterday, the Commander-in-Chief betrayed rare signs of genuine anger at the staunch partisanship.
In a speech at a hybrid car battery plant in Holland, Mich., the president vented his frustrations at a deeply divided government. Obama railed against what he sees as "the worst kind of partisanship, the worst kind of gridlock," which he said "has undermined public confidence and impeded our efforts to take the steps we need for our economy." "You hear it in my voice. I'm frustrated," he said. The clear message was that voters should not place blame for the nation's economic turmoil squarely on the president himself. Nevertheless, while the nation's economic woes cannot be wholly blamed on the president, he may be doing his reelection chances more harm than good in maintaining the focus on the broken political system.

[See why 2012 might be a bigger "wave" election than 2010.] 
 
 
The misstep may be in putting too much emphasis on problems and not solutions. "He certainly is trying to flip [partisan rancor] to his advantage and say, 'See? Isn't this kind of pathetic? This is the best we can do.' ... In uncertain times, people want a positive, decisive figure in the White House," says Steven Schier, professor of political science at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. Bemoaning the state of the national discourse—rightly or wrongly—makes Obama sound a lot like President Carter, who famously diagnosed a national crisis of confidence during another recession. "This sounds too rhetorically similar to the malaise speech of Carter in 1979," says Schier. "The risk you run by emphasizing the negative like that is that people think that you are not able to lead them out of this problem."
That is, of course, not the intended effect. Democratic strategist Andres Pineda says that the president's strategy appears to be two-fold. First, Obama is showing voters that he identifies with their anger and frustration at lawmakers' stubbornness. Second, though limited by a divided Congress, he is trying to use what power he has to push Congress to action. "He has a bully pulpit that no other figure in America has, and so he's trying to use that pulpit to get both parties to move," says Pineda. "And he's trying to set this up in such a way that they recognize that it's in their self-interest to move. Otherwise, the anti-incumbency fervor will hurt everybody in 2012."
That fervor is already taking its toll. Public approval of Congress is at historic lows. Earlier this week, polling firm Gallup reported that only 21 percent of registered voters believe that most members of Congress deserve reelection. Gallup also reports that the president's approval rating is at a weak 41 percent.
[Read about why the Fed is feeling the heat.]
To turn that tide, tackling the nation's employment problem is job one. After dropping as low as 8.8 percent in March, the unemployment rate again trended upward in the spring and summer and now sits at 9.1 percent. Since the White House and Congress succeeded in raising the debt ceiling, the White House has touted its pivot to jobs. But in pivoting, it continues to stress the federal government's partisan divisions. "The only thing preventing these bills from being passed is the refusal of some folks in Congress to put the country ahead of party," Obama said. "There are some in Congress right now who would rather see their opponents lose than see America win."
While Congress has certainly stalled or blocked many bills put forward this session, to dwell instead on continuing to push ahead is poor leadership, says Schier, and may be detrimental to the president's political career. "He's got to pivot off of that and stop reminding people of their disgust with what just happened. [He needs to] turn the page, have positive, resolute, optimistic messages combined with proposals that can credibly be argued, as well address the jobs problem."
Of course, it may be that calling Congress out is the best and only option that the president has at this point. In Pineda's mind, the president has performed a simple calculation: "This is the one thing that I can do that has a good chance of improving my own political standing, but it's also the only thing that will improve the likelihood that government will start working and things will get better."