Today's Gallup poll is brutal!

[iceman66]

47% approve vs. 47% disapprove.

Obama's worst rating yet in this particular poll.

I think it is past time for all Democrats to rally around our President.

All of the recent infighting about health care, etc. hasn't done any of us any good.

Obama may not be perfect, but he's a hell of a lot better than the alternative. Especially when you consider that the GOP is lately tending toward nominating candidates to the right of Bush.

[Turbineguy]

1. Fox and CNN

This morning I was at a restaurant for breakfast and at the counter they had 2 TV sets. One was on Fox and the other CNN. Fox had lots of wingnut talking heads and CNN had mostly commercials.

[USA_1]

23. Fox Lies & Propaganda

... that's what's causing Obama's declining numbers.

But since the Democrats refuse to do the same to the Pukes, his numbers will get lower.

And since the Dems refuse to change their passive ways I hereby make my fearless prediction: SARAH PALIN WILL BE IN THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2012.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I suspect we'd rally around...

If he was doing what he campaigned on.

People disapprove because they feel let down.

And of course he's a lot better than the alternative! There was never a time when I didn't believe that.

[izquierdista]

44. To make a culinary analogy

Obama is like yesterday's left over tuna noodle and brussel sprouts casserole -- unappetizing, yet edible. And far better for you than a bowl of rat turds soaked in gasoline.

[ProSense]

3. About where Reagan was.

Reagan's fell from an even higher early approval, and continued to fall throughout his second year.

Obama is taking on some extremely difficult issues during one of the worst economic climates in decades.

[liberalpragmatist]

4. It was a bad week

The unemployment rate is still high, health care reform is stalled, and the media narrative coming out of the Scott Brown victory is that Dems are in disarray (for once, it's accurate), and that health care reform might be dead.

Things may pick up again for him after SOTU.

Personally, I'm actually a little bit more optimistic about health care reform now than I was earlier this week. Things seem to gradually be headed towards the "House approves Senate bill, second reconciliation bill initiated with fixes." The controversies right now are about the order: should the House pass the Senate bill first or wait till the Senate can approve the fixes?

And I'm beginning to think the White House is right to "take a breather." Right now, House Dems are too freaked out and the polls are just too brutal on health care reform to pass something. Wait a few weeks, game out the procedural options, pass the jobs bill then pivot back to it with the numbers having stabilized.

It's a risky strategy but it may be necessary.

[CTyankee]

5. I support our president. I just want him to do the right thing on health care reform.

Not just because it will help the country but because it will help HIM remain our president and enhance progressives' chances of reelection in the fall Cong. and Sen. races. That, too, helps our country and why wouldn't we want that?

The best way to support him, IMO, is to beseech him to listen to the progressives who are offering constructive criticism. Listen to the 70% of the public that wanted a public option. Do a focus group or several focus groups with people who are in their 50s and ask them if they would like the Medicare expansion to include them at age 55. Listen to the people who ask "What happened to Single Payer" --- they are really mystified and want to know.

Nobody is trying to be meanspirited or nasty, or at least I am not.

I support you Mr. President, but you MUST support us.

[iceman66]

8. Obama's mistake

was trying to govern as if he actually had a functional majority in both houses of Congress when this was never the case.

He realized this too late, and all the backpedaling on the public option, etc. was an increasingly desperate attempt to get to that magical 60 votes and get a bill passed.

At least the election of Brown will force a change in strategy, hopefully for the better.

[Hansel]

6. Brutal? Really? Whatever.

[FrenchieCat]

7. Well, what did you expect? Everyone is falling right in line,

Just like the Corporations decided.

[iceman66]

11. There is still time to turn things around.

But we have to stop fighting amongst ourselves!

[FrenchieCat]

18. That won't happen.

We are set up to fight amongs ourselves.
That's the beauty of it all.
We all think we know how to get it all done,
till it doesn't get done. Then we move on to the next thing
to disparage. That is what we do. This is why we are here.
An election happened in 2008, but nothing with us changed.
We are still solely here to pass judgement, criticize, and scream and shout...
because that is the only thing that we know how to do.

[bigwillq]

29. Are you talking about "we" as in DU?

:shrug:

"pass judgement, criticize, and scream and shout..." That is one of the points of a DISCUSSION board. DU is not real life.

[FrenchieCat]

31. It is the only point of this discussion board.

And in real life, folks are busy passing judgments based on soundbytes.

That's what polls constantly measure; the moment by moment "feeling" of voters
based on whatever.

[bigwillq]

32. I never pay attention to any of those polls.

My only point was that you have, at numerous times, seemed to have blamed DU for the current political climate. In real life, I don't know any DEM or progressive or liberal-leaning person, that is as extreme (both good and bad) as some are here on DU. This is not real life. Just because someone posts something negative here, it doesn't mean that our party is divided. And if someone posts something positive, it doesn't mean that the party will be unified. DU is what it is.

People will say what they want to say (on DU and in real life). That's their right. There's not really much we can do about judgments or sound bytes. Hopefully, we can elect progressive candidates that represent the people (even though some campaign that way and then don't live up to it when they get in office, or they change., i.e. my "great" Senator Lieberman!)

[FrenchieCat]

51. I disagree....TO some extent, we are this country's liberal underground.....

and what we say has a tendency to bubble up.

It isn't just DU, it is the many sites such as DU, where there is a lot of
cross talk that goes on, and the same people who post in the many different sites.

So no, it's not just DU, but in politics, and in the world of Democratic politics,
the Internet has a reach, and especially if it is a negative message,
the MSM will make sure to bring it to all viewers. I didn't use to think that way,
until the story of Obama scratching his cheek, and folks decided he was giving
the finger to Hillary, surfaced all the way to print and news media.

That's when I knew that the attitudes we carry on with here do end up at some
point reaching the masses, especially if the message might help the other side.

[progressoid]

9. "better than the alternative"...Bah.

That's like telling someone with a broken leg. "hey, look on the bright side, you could have a broken leg and a broken arm".


How about we work on fixing the broken leg instead of opining about how bad it could have been.

[iceman66]

13. To use your analogy.

If we focus too much attention on the broken leg, one day soon we are likely to suddenly find ourselves in a full body cast.

The GOP sharks smell blood in the water. We need to focus on defeating them, first and foremost. Plenty of time later to put our own house in order.

[progressoid]

22. Why can't we both defeat the GOP AND get our house in order?

I submit that part of defeating the GOP involves getting our house in order.

To a certain extent we got "lucky" in '08. A lot of people voted against the GOP rather than for us. We aren't going to get those anti-Bush votes again. We need to give people some reason to vote for us or they'll certainly vote against us.

[iceman66]

45. Of course that should be the goal.

All I'm saying is we need to cut Obama some slack. He is in a very difficult position.

Just because the health care bill wasn't everything all of us wanted it to be, and now may never even pass at all, we shouldn't be so quick to throw Obama under the bus. So MANY here are ready to do just that.

[calico1]

86. I agree. This is why things keep getting so bad.

We keep settling for whatever we can get.

[timeforpeace]

10. THat IS a rally round the President. Could have been much worse otherwise.

[iceman66]

14. Do you ever have anything constructive to add?

[FrenchieCat]

19. That is not why poster is here and posts......

It's damn no matter what is done or not done,
said or not said, cause nothing, and I mean nothing
will ever please such a poster, ever.

[AspenRose]

35. Lives for negativity.

Hunts for it every chance they get.

Ignore them and they'll go away.

[SaveOurDemocracy]

49. Says the poster who will never be displeased. n/t

[CreekDog]

12. I'll rally around him when he rallies around health care

moving on and/or letting the "dust settle" is *not* okay with me.

and i've been a strong supporter all along until this.

so that's my deal with Obama, he does that and i come around.

no i won't oppose him and i do think he is the best person we had the chance to elect...but all that was contingent on him doing certain things --or at least trying!

[iceman66]

16. Obama is not a king.

There is only so much he is going to be able to do on health care, after the MA election.

The House and Senate bills both BARELY passed before Brown's election, and now I imagine many in Congress are getting cold feet.

If Congress had done their damn job and delivered the President a decent bill in a timely fashion, we wouldn't be in this mess.

[CreekDog]

20. since when did i ever say Obama was king?

you just gonna lump me in with all the pony-seekers?

i didn't say him not getting health care passed was fatal for me, i said him *NOT TRYING* was a deal-breaker.

he may need to be king to get it passed, he DOESN'T need to be king to FREAKING TRY!

:grr:

[Irish_shark]

24. I don't think anyone on the left is asking Obama not to try

They're simply asking Obama to try something different. Something without provisions that the left dislikes, and with more provisions that the left likes.

[CreekDog]

25. That's not the issue --the issue is: Is Obama *trying*?

it appears not.

i think he's completely disengaged from this topic and despite it being his signature topic for the past 6-9 months, he's been somewhat disengaged from it all along.

i have more of a problem with that than i do with the people who argue against me against the Senate Bill (which I support).

[notesdev]

85. Look at this shit

This is a big flashing red warning light. Why is he unable to talk to a classroom of children without a teleprompter?

I want to know who is putting the words on the teleprompter for him to read; that's the person who is calling the shots, and that's the person we should really be focused on. Obama has reduced himself to an empty suit mouthing words on a screen.

[iceman66]

46. He has been trying,

albeit trying to get a bill passed rather than fighting for a better bill that probably wouldn't pass.

We'll see what happens going forward. At least Obama seems like he is smart enough to learn from his mistakes.

[Divine Discontent]

57. and what pray tell are those 'pony-seekers' asking for that gets them called such by you?

[CreekDog]

65. actually i don't believe in the term pony seeker

but i suspect i was arguing with someone who might label me as such and was showing that my opposition couldn't be characterized that way --even by those who use that label.

for me, i only expect people to like what is right and not like what is not.

but as a practical matter, i take issue with opposing half a loaf when the whole thing is beyond what we can get. in the case of health care reform, i actually only reserve that thinking for the very last moment. at the beginning, middle and late middle, you fight for all you can get, each step of the way. now that the end is really here, and we could wind up with nothing, you jump and grab what's on the table as opposed to nothing.

i was excited about the negotiations with the House and what they were producing, but there was a shelf life on those negotiations, in terms of expecting the Senate to adopt them and that was always contingent on 60 votes in the Senate. however, the clock ran out on the House (and us). now to keep what is worth having, we need the House to vote on the Senate Bill and see what can be improved upon in reconciliation.

if you disagree, i don't think you want a "pony", i just think your desire for more than you can get right now is going to leave you with nothing instead of half of what you want.

[Divine Discontent]

68. we shall see in his SOTU speech what is truly up in Democratic HQ, so to speak, and where our party

is going from here. I certainly hope they do reconciliation. They are already loathed by the 30%ers who despise liberalism and especially Obama, but they can secure their base if they fight for what we thought we were making clear we were voting for as a party.

I agree you take what is available, and have said so in past months, that you fight tooth and nail making it look like you want so much more, then in bargaining in the final moments, concede some issues to secure many more. I expected it, and they have the votes for much, they just need to the forceful way to say, hey, this bill was agreed upon by 59 senators, and we're going to push it through, because what is the point of majority rule if we cannot bring what we believe is positive change.

[CreekDog]

71. We are on the very same page

I hope Obama is. Let's hope!

:hi:

[GOTV]

100. ponys?

[Jennicut]

15. On Dec 4th through the 6th, he had 47 approve, 46 dissaprove

He has been through it before and it bounced back. I hate when people panic over daily polls.
His taking on Wall St. is a good first step (if he follows through and really pushes Congress).
And health care may not be stalled after all.

[CreekDog]

66. he was there in August too

perhaps not in this poll, but in others, that was a low point. he followed up with action and rhetoric.

he needs to do it again.

and not only advocate strongly, but make sure what he's advocating for is strong.

[Opienawa]

17. Rally around Obama

You're right-on, iceman66 - he needs us as much as we need him these days. As far as to the right of Bush, I couldn't think of too many to the right of Bush until my mind settled on Cheney, and then moved on, to Limbaugh, then O'Reilly, and onto Bachman/Palin overdrive...and as you can surmise, I realized I hadn't given it much thought. My husband was laid off in August 09 after 8 years with his last company, and with that we lost our health insurance. (His was paid for and mine - through the company - was running $730 per month. Some deal, huh?) I don't agree with everything Obama's done and hope he'll speed up the pullback of troops on the ground in Afghanistan, for one thing, but he is the best we've got right now, and I sense his heart is in the right place. The important thing is for the Dems to support him and not begin a left-wing version of what the righties' performance portrays: divisiveness amongst themselves, accusations flying amok, excising those deemed too "moderate," not to mention their antics "birthed" this past spring/summer which include death panels, birthers, and other paranoid ideology in action. Keep the faith and let the words follow.

[AndyA]

21. How about our President rallying around US for a change?

WE'VE ALREADY DONE OUR PART.

We donated money.

We gave our time.

We voted.

We got him elected.

Some of us are still waiting for him to keep his promises. Some of us have realized he ISN'T going to keep some of his promises now.

He promised us change we could believe in. Bailing out Wall Street and ignoring Main Street isn't much of a change from the Bush years. Health care with mandates and no cost controls would be a new tax on Americans, better than nothing but not the public option he campaigned on. Yes, there have been improvements and yes Obama has done many good things. But he still has much to do. It's time for Obama to rally around the people who got him elected: his supporters, his base.

He owes us. Now it's HIS TURN.

[choie]

27. Amen, AndyA

I'm so damn tired of being told we need to rally around HIM - he is OUR employee - WE voted him in - HE is being paid by OUR money. It's time for HIM to do the work WE the people hired him to do.

[treestar]

40. What utter bullshit

What a lazy ass way of thinking.

No, Obama always said we'd have to be a part of it.

You don't just "buy" a President (or other lower level officials for that matter) and then sit back and wait for goodies to be "delivered."

It is an ongoing process at all time.

Absolute Fail.

[grahamhgreen]

60. FAIL

[Hello_Kitty]

90. It's so irritating when the stupid proles acting up, isn't it treestar?

No, Obama always said we'd have to be a part of it.

Until he and Rahm decide we're too bothersome with our demands that campaign promises be honored and then we can just fuck off.

[grahamhgreen]

59. AGREED!

[Raine]

62. Completely agree nt

[JoePhilly]

26. You are absolutely correct ... and here's why.

We on the left are a bunch of whining babies.

We want exactly what we want, and we want it immediately. We don't want to hear it will take time. Or that we have to more forward step by step.

So while we in-fight and whine and cry .... the right wing gets in line.

And so now ... here we are, likely to get NOTHING on health care ... and we blame Obama.

Politicians follow US ... and when we on the left are rolling on the floor making an endless stream of unattainable demands which must be filled in the next 30 seconds ... the Dems have no idea what to do. Because they know that, when it gets tough, they can't count on US to show up.

Again and again, we let them know that if we get even a little discouraged, lots of us are going to sit in the corner and SULK.

Which is exactly what were doing now. Sulking.

[Enthusiast]

69. Hardly.

We expect representative government. The electorate didn't sweep Republicans from office because they expected Democrats to move the country to the right. Achieving none of our goals with such a huge majority is a failure.

Complaining about such an inept government is not whining. There should be more complaining, not less.

Obama certainly deserves criticism for his weak advocacy of the public option. Then he straight out lied when he claimed during the campaign he never said the public option was key to controlling costs through competing with private insurance. Why shouldn't he get criticism? If the Democrats had passed health care with a strong public option Obama's approval rate would go up, not down.

The public option is not a pony. The public option reflects the wishes of a majority of the electorate.

[JoePhilly]

93. You miss the point.

WE on the left have been inconsistent.

The Dems in Congress are WEAK. And they do not feel that WE are behind them.

And so ... when the Tea Party happens, they wait to see US defend them.

And what do WE do ... we fight over single payer and public option. And we lose ground. We whine about the smaller details.

So the Dems in Congress WAIT ... not for Obama ... but for US ... and what did we do ... nothing.

So they start to cut, divide, make deals.

Its not just them ... its US too ... WE on the left are not CLEAR. We are more diverse and we end up fighting US. The GOP just uses that to divide us more.

And we get nothing.

We have no discipline.

[Enthusiast]

95. Speak for yourself.

Most of the DUers have consistently written their congressmen insisting on a strong public option. And we have made our wishes known to President Obama. We are not being inconsistent and we are not whining. Saying liberals are whining is a favorite Right Wing talking point. It is a smoke screen, a diversion.

We knew the tea party outrage in August was staged. IT WAS STAGED. It was staged by the insurance industry! And the M$M and complicit Democrats acted as if those protests were a mandate from on high, as if the entire country was behind their opposition to HCR. This was obviously planned.

So, don't tell me we are whining and inconsistent.

[pnorman]

28. This is the guy we (69,457, 149 of us) put in the White House:

http://leishacamden.blogspot.com/2008/10/not-that-it-matters.html

I for one will continue to give him as much suport as I can possibly can. I suggest all here to seriously consider the consequences of abetting the Tebaggers, and RALLY BEHIND OBAMA!

FYI to you "purists": I voted AGAINST Lieberman in 2000, and ended up with Bush.

[Irish_shark]

34. Can you define "rally around Obama" please?

Does it mean supporting a bill we don't like? Or what.

[pnorman]

41. Not necessarily. There's such a thing as "critical support".

But an all too common them I'm seeing here on DU is along the lines of: "There's not a dime's worth of difference between Obama and Lieberman!". Here's a a link that goes into much of that: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7267942&mesg_id=7270472

That's a thread within a thread, and is difficult to quickly summarize. But I urge all who objected to my posting, to give it a looking over. Many of my fellow Naderites in 2000, took MUCHO abuse from the so-called "pragmatists" for that position. But I've been getting the distinct impression that many of those same "pragmatists" are now hollering: "There's not a dime's worth of difference between Obama and Lieberman!"

[Speck Tater]

30. "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat." -- Will Rogers nt

[Kltpzyxm]

33. I think it's past time

for our President to rally around all Democrats.

Dance with the one that brung ya.

[asdjrocky]

36. I will not rally around someone who continues to tear down his liberal base.

Let him rally for a while.

[JoePhilly]

37. If I can't have what I want THIS SECOND ... I'm going to hold my breath!!!!

[asdjrocky]

38. You know what?

That's bullshit. Sell it somewhere else.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

39. +1

[JoePhilly]

42. Sure ... let's all go home and sulk because that will move us forward.

[asdjrocky]

56. Who the fuck said anything about going home?

I didn't say I won't rally, but there's no way I'll rally for this crap. Trust me, I'll be in the street just like always, I just won't drink the koolaid and carry pom-poms like you.

Have a nice day.

[JoePhilly]

92. Who said carry POM POMS ... ???

What are you, a cry baby??

You feel free to call my last post ARROGANT BULLSHIT??

We on the left continue to eat our own, while the GOP similes ... and then we wonder why the Dems in Congress won't ADVANCE in the direction we want.

So look ... you feel free to blame THEM .... but I blame US ... those of US who are not elected ... those of us who bitch and moan if we don't get exactly what we want RIGHT NOW.

And if you are confused ... go back to 1993 .... the DEMS failed to get their shit together on Health care ... and they got NOTHING. And then ... to make matters worse ... they got KICKED FROM OFFICE ANYWAY.

Now ... 15 years later ... we're doing our level best to do the exact same thing.

And if it happens again ... I guess some of us will BLAME Obama this time ... BLAME the DEMS in office.

But we won't blame "US".

[asdjrocky]

94. I said it was bullshit, someone else with a keen eye, added the arrogant part.

If you can't see that this administration and this Congress don't give a shit about working and poor people then I can not help you Joe. Open your eyes.

72% want a public option. If you can't get that done with a solid majority, then you don't deserve the job.

Go ahead, hold a rally. I'll be in the rally for truth. For real social and economic justice.

Hell, you're probably one of those people that thinks Clinton did a good job.

[Warren Stupidity]

74. I've been patient for 40 years.

your post is insulting arrogant bullshit.

[JoePhilly]

76. Obama's been President for 40 years?

[Warren Stupidity]

87. yes that is exactly what I meant.

I am really surprised that you post here and do not know how long Obama has been in office.

[TexasObserver]

43. Gallup is not a reliable pollster.

How does Gallup make most of its income?

It partners with the biggest corporations in the world, selling whatever thoughts and ideas those big business partners want sold. Look them up. See what they do. They are the personal valet to the biggest corporations in the world. Selling political thought is only part of what they do.

They tailor make polls for certain clients. For someone such as USA Today, they'll always manage to come through with poll results that tilt the direction that business client wants. Sometimes they use ridiculous samples, if you look at their source data.

Polls can be constructed and conducted to get damn near any result wanted.

I do believe the president's approval is flagging, but I don't believe a word Gallup says, and haven't for years.

[iceman66]

47. It may not be entirely accurate, but it is a bellwether.

And all the other polls are saying basically the same thing.

[Irish_shark]

48. Can you state which pollster is reliable?

Just so we know who to trust in the future.

[TexasObserver]

50. The topic is Gallup and their recent poll.

I don't facilitate thread jackers.

If you want to discuss other pollsters, start a thread about it, and if I feel like talking about it, I will do so in that thread.

[Irish_shark]

52. I will explain why I think you don't want to say which pollster you trust

If you tell us that you trust pollster X, then you will not be able to criticize Pollster X whenever they show your favorite politicians' approval going down. So you seem to want to reserve the ability to criticize pollster in the future.

Am I correct?

[timeforpeace]

53. Well, a well-known poster (above) promotes Gallup polls when they show Obama over 50% but

blasts Gallup when he's under 50%, as she has done in this thread.

[Jennicut]

99. None of them. Take the all with a grain of salt...they are have a point of view

to present. Even ones friendly to Dems. Sometimes they are accurate...other times they are totally off.

[grantcart]

54. And yet the weekly gallup which has a larger sample and accessible tabs shows little movement

[LWolf]

55. I'll rally around him

when he rallies around the left, women, educators, and the rest of us under the bus.

[grahamhgreen]

58. It is time for him to rally for Medicare for All, Bank crimes investigations, out of iraqistan, etc,

[Kaleva]

61. Republican support for Obama has tanked. Dem support still very high.

[Raine]

63. I'm not rallying around someone who has thrown

my wing of the party under the bus. :-(

[Kaleva]

67. Which wing are you talking about.? Conservate Dem support is dropping while lib support remains high

[Greyhound]

64. "We suck less" is not an endorsement nor a reason to rally.

Give me something to support and I will, but being not-a-republikun is not a reason to do anything.

[cadmium]

78. I think that is probably a fundamental disagreement

among people who agree on issues but not totally on methods. I agree with the more leftist philosophy but am OK lesser of two evils. I think sucks less is probably the most important reason to rally support. It is not as emotionally satisfying. I think that the label "lesser of two evils" gets a bad rap. The worst of two evils can be very bad.

[vaberella]

70. Funny. Gallup says he's there. But in Fox polls Obama still tops as likely winner over GOP clones.nt

[Irish_shark]

80. I don't see how Fox contradicts Gallup

Gallup didn't conduct a candidate vs. candidate poll. It's a job approval poll.

[bread_and_roses]

72. And I think it's past time for Obama and the Ds to rally round us...

...instead of Banksters and Insurance/Pharma vampires. Maybe then their poll numbers will improve.

[Warren Stupidity]

73. Rally around what?

What am I supposed to be supporting in this rally? How about the idiots in Washington rally around us instead?

[JoePhilly]

77. Which "Us" do they rally around. "We" spend all our time bickering.

If I don't get every thing I want right this second, then I will scream and complain.

We on the left are like a bunch of yippy dogs ... chasing each other around and around, while the bone sits there in the middle.

Meanwhile, the GOP dobermans are drooling over our inability to work together, pick up the bone and walk away.

They know we will wear each other out ... and slowly, we'll give up.

And then they'll take the bone.

And none of us gets what they want because we don't have the POLITICAL DISCIPLINE to work together for longer that it takes to microwave a pop-tart.

[Warren Stupidity]

88. Well so far this administration has rallied around

Wall Street Billionaires.
The Health Insurance Industry.
The Permawar Industry.
Bush-Cheney gang war criminals.
Republicans.

Some of us find it difficult to motivate ourselves to join this rally.

[JoePhilly]

89. Bull.

Obama voted for the bailouts as a candidate. Did you MISS THAT??

I don't know if YOU have a 401k, but I do. And I am happy to have seen it recover.

One year ago ... every single person I knew thought their job might VANISH the next day, that's not true today. Can you read a trend line ... go look at the unemployment claim data from Jan 2008 to now ... tell me what you see. The curve is BENDING in the correct direction.

GDP improving (best in 2 years) ... quarterly earnings improved. Housing number trend, improved ... we want JOBS right, all of these indicators I list are PRE-CONDITIONS.

Obama said he'd get us OUT of Iraq and ADD troops to Afganistan ... is doing BOTH.

Your "Bush - Cheney gang war criminals" .... that's not even a statement ... no meat ... no details ... nothing.

He also said he'd try to work with the GOP ... I'd rather he never tried ... but he SAID HE WOULD TRY ... now you WHINE??? He SAID he would try to work with them.

Health care ... back in August when the GOP sent opperatives to town halls ... did YOU go and make sure YOUR representatives knew WE on the left were backing them???? No. Much of the left sat quietly. Or whined about DOMA, or FISA, or feel free to insert your most important issue here ...

And while WE on the left bickered with each other ... the GOP closed ranks, as they always do.

And once again ... we stand on the bring of getting ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

Because if I can't have what I want THIS SECOND ... then I am going to SULK.

[Warren Stupidity]

96. Your 401K hasn't recovered.

The market has not recovered from the crash. Go back and check the S&P and DOW highs. There also has been zero substantive reform of the financial institutions and practices that resulted in the Great Recession, consequently there really is nothing preventing a second crash for the same reasons we had the first one.

But then again, you are looking at a data point that affects one set of people: people with 401Ks. Oddly enough you are not bragging about the unemployment situation.

"Your "Bush - Cheney gang war criminals" .... that's not even a statement ... no meat ... no details ... nothing. "

Ah - ok we are done. You are in denial.

[firedupdem]

91. +1 n/t

[RBInMaine]

75. These polls don't mean a lot right now. In a recession, people get very angry.

[cadmium]

79. Ronald Reagan had horrible polls at this stage nt

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

101. In early 1983, he looked like a one-term President....

Economy recovered and the rest is f'ing history...

[krawhitham]

81. He will get a state of the union bump

[donheld]

82. I'd be delight to rally if

wasn't all about Wall-Street and ignore Mainstreet who voted for him. He never really came out to fight for health care. Instead he huddled with pharma to betray us.
Sorry I can't rally around him If he's not rallying around we the people.

I did not vote for Barack Obama because "at least he's not Sarah Palin." I voted for him becase I thought he said he'd bring real change to The Oval Office. Real change does not mean Hiring a Goldman Sachs insider to do their bidding. Real change does not include sneaking Pharma into the White House to make a secret pact to sell us out to them. I did not vote for him so he could give us John McCain's Cadillac Tax. Sorry but I can't rally around that. Capiche?

[lumberjack_jeff]

83. Interesting correlation.

He's slipping in the polls and the reason is because I'm an inadequate cheerleader.

[treestar]

84. See post 77

You're only shooting self in foot. Cheerlead more and it could lead to what you want. Gripe and moan and Rs get to take advantage and maybe take the country further right.

It's as if you want that.

[Honeycombe8]

97. It is not the citizenry who are to blame. Infighting? Among US? Hell,....

it's the infighting among Congress members, and all the supposed compromises with people who don't end up voting for the bills, anyway. It's the Dems' lack of balls to get things done, twist some arms, talk in back alleys, or however the hell you get things done in Congress.

Whatever it is, it is NOT the citizens who caused the problem. We knew what we were voting for. We just haven't really gotten it.

So before we rally round the flagpole, there first has to BE a flagpole to rally 'round.

[Beacool]

98. Which alternative are we talking about?

McCain - Palin? There were other prior alternatives if people had taken notice, instead of nominating someone because of their charm, oratory skills and interesting personal history.

:shrug: