Improving views of the economy have helped hike President Barack Obama’s approval rating to a 20-month high, a new CNN/ORC poll showed Tuesday, as markets climbed to record levels at news of an economy in overdrive. CONT. Kevin Liptak, CNN Read more »
How do Americans feel about reestablishing relations with Cuba?
In the wake of President Obama’s surprise announcement of an agreement to normalize diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba, 54 percent of Americans approve of reestablishing both diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries, while just 28 percent disapprove. … Evaluations of President Obama’s handling of relations with […] Read more »
Obama, the Least Lame President?
… The lame-duck phenomenon has changed. In our new political marketplace, the decline of powerful party organizations and the rise of hyperpartisan politics mean that presidents have much less political capital even at the height of their terms. At the same time, they have unprecedented capacity for unilateral executive authority. […] Read more »
For Obama, a good December, but hard choices lie ahead
… Obama’s political team has long believed that the unilateral actions he is taking will reinforce support within the coalition that has twice elected him — a coalition they see as expanding over time due to demographic changes. His actions, they hope, will put Republicans in an uncomfortable position politically. […] Read more »
Cuban-Americans split on Obama’s Cuba policy
Cuban-Americans nationwide are almost evenly divided over support for the embargo and for President Obama’s effort to normalize relations with Cuba, according to a new poll that shows a vast generational divide in reaction to this week’s historic announcement. CONT. Marc Caputo & Joey Flechas, Miami Herald Read more »
The decline of the Cuban American hard-liners
President Obama’s announcement Wednesday of steps to reestablish diplomatic relations and liberalize economic ties with Cuba signals the continued decline of a once politically formidable bloc: Cuban American hard-liners. The product of demographic and opinion trends that have been building for over two decades, these policy changes became timely following […] Read more »