ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style3 { height: 68px; } .MsoNormal {} h1 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style4 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style6 { height: 69px; } h2 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style7 { width: 285px; } .style8 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> &nbsp;<table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr> <td height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style7"> <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140" class="style6"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" class="style6"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td height="2" class="style7"></td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style4">Barack&#39;s Sagging Approval Ratings</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curt</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>is<a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright Sept. 5, 2010<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style8"> G</span>reat expectations and high hopes accompanied President Barack Obama s election Nov. 4, 2008, breaking the color barrier and tossing conventional wisdom to the wind about racial politics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Converging factors, including the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and a deteriorated economy, helped vault the relatively political newcomer into the White House.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Barack s stardom started July 28, 2004 at the Democratic National Convention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>His fortunes rose winning the U.S. senate in Illinois, rapidly becoming the rising star in the Democratic Party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer admitted March 18, 2008 to soliciting a high-priced call girl, Obama s fortunes turned golden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Spitzer, considered by Democratic Party insiders as a presidential hopeful, sabotaged his political career and handed Obama the eventual keys to the Oval Office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Today s great hope has vanquished into mediocrity.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Barack s approval ratings have dropped about 20 points since his inauguration Jan. 20, 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Floating on cloud-9, Obama enjoyed unreal approval ratings at 68%, only to find it drop today to an aggregate 46.4%, not too shabby when you consider the dismal state of the economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Heading into the midterm elections, comparisons have been made to former President s Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While Clinton recovered from losing the House in 1994 to reelection in 1996 against retired Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.), Carter s fortunes were far less auspicious in 1980.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He lost his reelection bid in a landslide to the late President Ronald Reagan, one of the most popular presidents of the 20th century, perhaps in U.S. history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>History also shows that third-party candidate H. Ross Perot (I-Texas), siphoned off votes from Dole, helping secure Clinton s reelection in 1996.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;</span>Some experts attribute Obama s slip in the polls to his ambitious legislative agenda, especially health care and Wall Street reform, during a crushing recession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Gallup s Frank Newport thinks Obama s decline in the polls stems from the public s perception that his government fixes, including a $787 billion federal bailout program, hasn t worked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Relentless right wing talk shows haven t helped Barack s approval ratings with crossover Republicans and independents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>As the economy continues to falter, the blame fixes squarely on the White House, a natural target to disgruntled voters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With unemployment at 9.5% nationwide, Barack can t get the kind of traction witnessed by Reagan in 1983-84 when the economy finally started to rebound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Clinton was helped in 1992 by a stubborn recession that upended the reelection bid of former President George H.W. Bush.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span> Republicans look forward to return the favor to Democrats in November, after the 2008 drubbing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Voters have grown more impatient with government fixes what many economists regard as the worst economy since the Great Depression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Expectations point toward economic weakness, though one never knows with the stock market.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>A broad-based market advance now could turn around the dismal jobs picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>So far, Barack faces stiff headwinds when it comes to the economic downturn, turning his attention to Mideast peacemaking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>His Sept. 2-3 summit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas diverts attention away from the economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced Sept. 3 both parties wished to resume their peace talks in two weeks, Obama got an immediate bounce in the polls.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Buying the right wing  socialist argument, some voters show amnesia over Bush s $687 billion bailouts of federal mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, AIG Insurance, Investment bank Bear Stearns and many other financial institutions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When the banking industry ran out of cash, Bush and his Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson had no choice but to act to save the nation s biggest financial institutions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Right wing talk shows blame only Obama for his socialist ways, forgetting quickly all of Bush s bailouts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Hoping for a massacre on Election Day, the GOP forgets that Obama s approval ratings during a punishing recession remain in the mid-40s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Bush s dipped below 30% at the end of his second term.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Should the economy show some life and should Barack do in Afghanistan what he just did in Iraq, he could easily see a 10-15% bounce in his polls.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Panic over Barack s sinking approval ratings are grossly exaggerate in GOP circles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Any improvement in the U.S. economy or any resolution to the Afghanistan conflict, or, for that matter, any breakthrough in Mideast peacemaking, could help Obama reverse his current doldrums.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Obama s chief strategist David Axelrod didn t buy the prevailing wisdom that Barack bit off more than he could chew on his legislative agenda, especially pushing through health care reform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> When you package it all together, it can be too big to succeed as a public-relations matter, said Axelrod, explaining that it s tough to sell the public on too many changes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Given the rotten economy and mounting death toll in Afghanistan, it s no wonder that Barack can t gain traction in his approval ratings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Any improvement in the economy or exit strategy in Afghanistan, he could see an abrupt reversal of fortunes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <b>John M. Curtis </b>writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He&#x2019;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style7"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td height="1" class="style7"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Homecobolos> p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>