Obama's Reached His High; Now Reality Knocks

Pollster John Zogby regularly updates our Obamameter. Each week, Zogby uses his polling, expert analysis, and interaction with major players to come up with a rating of between 1 and 100. Unlike his polls, the Obamameter is his judgment on the performance of the president once multiple factors are considered. In this week's Obamameter, Zogby considers what the president faces in Pakistan and Afghanistan and gives him 91 out of 100.

"On the good news front are word from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that the economy is stabilizing, a report that consumer prices are down, and news that the job picture (and maybe the flu) isn't as bad as thought. This administration is showing it can handle the swine flu better than the previous one handled Hurricane Katrina. But Obama still faces a long slog on the economy, renewed violence in Iraq, civilian deaths in Afghanistan, and the prospect of a collapse in Pakistan. He's already gotten his boost, but its back to an ugly reality.

This week's Obamameter Rating: 91.

Last week's rating: 95

John Zogby is president and CEO of Zogby International, a public opinion, research, and business solutions firm with experience working in more than 70 countries. Founded and led by Zogby since 1984, Zogby International specializes in telephone, Internet, and face-to-face survey research and analysis for corporate, political, nonprofit, and governmental clients. The firm is headquartered in Utica, N.Y. John Zogby is also the author of The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream (Random House).

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