The sixth year of a two-term presidency is rarely kind. The public’s initial romance with the president has faded. The brief momentum he thought he earned by winning reelection has faded too. The White House doesn’t set the agenda any more; events are in charge now. … And if the past […] Read more »
How Obama Can Get His Groove Back
Even with no real scandal and only one demonstrable policy blunder, the health-care rollout, President Barack Obama had a miserable 2013 as his public standing plummeted. History suggests it is tough for a second-term president to rebound. Here are five ways Obama could defy those odds. CONT. Al Hunt, Bloomberg Read more »
Americans lack faith that government can or will solve the nation’s top problems
Americans enter 2014 with a profoundly negative view of their government, expressing little hope that elected officials can or will solve the nation’s biggest problems, a new poll finds. Half say America’s system of democracy needs either “a lot of changes” or a complete overhaul, according to the poll conducted […] Read more »
American Consumers in 2013 Most Upbeat Since Before Recession
American consumers in 2013 were more upbeat than at any time in the previous six years as views on the economy, finances and the buying climate improved. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index (COMFCOMF) averaged minus 31.4 for 2013, the highest since 2007, when it was minus 10.5. The weekly index […] Read more »
Dems can’t count on economy to save them in midterm elections
President Obama and Democrats might not be able to rely on the economic recovery to bolster their chances in November’s midterm elections. Even though there has been a raft of positive economic news recently, experts in crucial battleground states caution that other issues, notably ObamaCare, could loom even larger than […] Read more »
Americans have very low expectations for 2014
Americans have weathered several years of negative feelings about the economy, fears for the state of the world, and worries about their own family’s finances. Now they are greeting 2014 with a surprising amount of pessimism, according to the latest Economist/YouGov Poll. On the eve of the New Year, Americans […] Read more »