As President Obama prepares to update Congress and Americans about his agenda at tonight’s State of the Union address, a new CBS News poll shows he receives public support for many of his policies. Americans favor a combination of spending cuts and taxes to tackle the deficit (59 percent); stricter […] Read more »
Blood Pressure Rises Around the Beltway as Sequester Looms Larger
Don’t be surprised if the barometric pressure in Washington’s atmosphere and the blood pressures of many Beltway denizens shoot up this week. As emotional, important, and timely as the debates over immigration and gun control are, the increasing likelihood that budget sequestration will, in fact, kick in March 1 is […] Read more »
Obama Rated Highest on Foreign Affairs, Lowest on Deficit
President Obama earns a 39% job approval rating for his handling of the economy, similar to his ratings on the issue one year ago. Among domestic issues, Obama’s rating on the economy is above only his 31% rating for handling the federal deficit. Across nine issues, Americans give Obama his […] Read more »
Obama’s speeches are not just words — they are political action
… In many ways, speech is action. When Obama speaks forcefully, as he did in his second inaugural address, he enables action to follow. Changing the public political discourse also changes public understanding, leading to new demands for political action. Words are not mere words. As the linguist Charles Fillmore […] Read more »
Fox News Poll: Voters say country weaker now than before Obama
President Barack Obama will be speaking to a gloomy electorate when he delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday. Twice as many voters believe the country is weaker, rather than stronger, since Obama took office. In addition, by a 52-40 percent margin voters think the worst is yet […] Read more »
Overwhelming Hispanic Support for Obama Wasn’t Preordained in 2012
… Given the key role that Latinos had played in Obama’s 2008 win, this particular leg of his coalition looked pretty wobbly just a year and a half before Election Day. Little wonder that when pollsters, including Gallup, Peter Hart and Bill McInturff for NBC News and The Wall Street […] Read more »