Obama Scores Political Points for Sotomayor Pick

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 says the president is slipping a bit because of his Guantánamo policies, but his Supreme Court pick of Sonia Sotomayor will help the president politically.

"Even some Democrats voted against Obama on Guantánamo because he didn't spell out a plan for where the detainees would go. Since it's clear that politicians don't want them in their states, this problem won't go away. Fortunately for Obama, Dick Cheney became Obama's welcome foil in their battle of the security speeches. Then, it was on to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. The GOP must either further alienate Hispanics by opposing her or disappoint their base by going along. Score political points for Team Obama."

This week's Obamameter Rating: 80.

Last week's rating: 85.

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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